Monday, September 08, 2008 First Mindanao investment gab to push through: DTI
THE director of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac), a special unit of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Southern Mindanao, announced Sunday that they will push through with the staging of the 1st Mindanao Investment Forum this year.
In a text message, Teolulo T. Pasawa, Nerbac director and DTI-Southern Mindanao provincial director, told Sun.Star that they hope to conduct the forum on the last week of October or early November.
"We are awaiting approval of budget, so the date is still tentative," Pasawa said, adding that the budget will be approved by DTI Undersecretary Merly Cruz.
Pasawa said this will be the biggest investment forum this year which aims to gather all investors and stakeholders in Mindanao to tackle potential investment destinations and business ventures.
"Last year an investment forum was also conducted, but it was dubbed as the Bimp-Eaga Investment Forum," Pasawa said.
He added that the conduct of the Bimp-Eaga Investment Forum last year, also held in Davao City, had drawn positive impact from both foreign and local investors.
Davao, the host city, also benefited from the event as guests of the same forum occupied hotels in the city, avail of the transportations, thus contributing to its economic growth.
Meanwhile, with Davao City hosting the first Mindanao Investment Forum, Pasawa said this will be another good opportunity and chance for the private sector and the government to project how safe Davao City is as a destination for business expansion or new investments.
He said despite armed conflicts happening in some parts of Mindanao, the island has still so much to offer to new investors as it has rich natural resources, some of them even remained to be untapped.
"In any business there is a risk, investors knew that. We should also consider the fact that terrorism does not only happen in Mindanao, but also in other places which we thought safe in the past," Pasawa said. (JGRS)
