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Sunday, May 21, 2006
Negros Oriental offers business opportunities, attractions
LOCATED in the Central Visayas region and occupying the southeast half of the island of Negros, with Negros Occidental comprising the northwestern half, Negros Oriental is fast becoming one of the most promising tourist destination and business-oriented province in the south.
This year, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) will kick off its annual Visayas Area Business Conference (VABC) this June in Dumaguete City, capital of Negros Oriental. In line with the big business event, it is worth to mention the four booming business sectors of the province, namely, tourism, information and communications technology (ICT)-enabled services, agribusiness, and financing.
An important tourist attraction among both foreign and locals is the internationally known dive site, Apo Island. It is a spectacular and diverse fringing coral reef that surrounds a high volcanic island in the Visayas. Scientific researches are also conducted in the area on a relatively undisturbed marine environment. Traditional fishing is allowed in some parts of the island but non-ecological and exploitative activities are strictly prohibited and prevented in the area. These rare features are just some of the economic and tourist attractions of Apo Island. But more than these, Negros Oriental has more natural attractions to offer like the Sibulan Twin Lakes, the Bais-Manjuyod Sandbar, and the Mabinay Caves. With these alluring sites, investors will have a field day looking for business opportunities in tourist development and services.
Education and training are valued highly in society in Negros Oriental. In Dumaguete City, you can find the first American-Protestant University in Asia – Silliman University, which was founded in 1901. It is one of the largest universities in the province and distinguished as an institution of higher learning in the Visayas. Silliman University is just one of the schools in the province that produce highly-trained students in the province that are viable for business employment. With this kind of human resource development, investment priorities in the area include call centers, business process outsourcing, medical transcription, and even in animation.
Agriculture is the major industry in Negros Oriental. It has a wide variety of natural products nurtured from generation to generations. Agribusiness (including fishery) therefore remains a major engine of growth in the province. Prospective investors face a wide range of choices such as: industrial tree farming, palm oil production, virgin coconut oil production, producing bio-fuels from coconut and sugarcane, organic fertilizer production, and sea farming, among others.
These economic developments make it the best place for PCCI to inaugurate its first big business event of the year. In collaboration with the various business and professional groups in the province, the business conference will validate the emergence of a new business hubbub in the south. (PR/PCCI/Sunnex)
(May 21, 2006 issue)
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