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Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Cebu's economy 'faring better' than the country
By Karen M. Flores
CEBU -- Speakers and reactors to the morning session of the Sun.Star Economic Forum 2004 Tuesday praised Cebu as a haven for investors and tourists.
Rex Drilon, who was with Cebu Holdings Inc. before he became chief operating officer of Ortigas and Co., announced to participants how "clean" the Cebu City Government is.
"In my four years here, I never had to bribe anyone to get anything done," said Drilon, a panelist to the presentation of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson Lilia R. Bautista.
For his part, Dr. Vicente B. Valdepeņas Jr., a member of the monetary board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) who spoke during the first session, noted Cebu's international reputation for its "safe streets" compared to Manila.
Other than reputation, however, both Bautista and Valdepeņas presented figures to show how Cebu has been faring better than the rest of the country.
The nationwide increase in the number of new corporations registered from 2002 to 2003 was 0.57 percent while in Cebu, the figure was 17.46 percent, Bautista said in her presentation.
Cebu center
Annual exports from 1998 to 2002, meanwhile, steadily increased from $2.036 million to $3.108 million.
In the regional scene, Central Visayas is now the fourth largest economy in the country, next to the National Capital Region, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon.
With the employment opportunities and the quality of life here, Drilon noted that the per capita income in Cebu is 2.5 times bigger than the national figure.
At an estimated $2,500, Cebu's per capita income is even bigger than Thailand and "almost as high" as that of Malaysia.
He also pointed out that there are at least 60 banks in Cebu and 1,500 hectares of business parks and economic zones scattered all over the island.
Moreover, Drilon said the island has been "hardly tarnished by the reputation of the wild, wild east" that has bugged the country and even this region of Asia what with reports of terrorism.
"Why invest in Cebu? Because it's the center of the universe," he told forum participants, who laughed at this comment.
Drilon explained that Cebu is within four hours of "any major city in Asia," which makes it a convenient stop and area for business transactions. Sun.Star Cebu
(March 10, 2004 issue)
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