DAVAO CITY, Nov. 20 (PIA) – An
official of the Mindanao Development Authority assured that the agency will
continue to monitor and keep track of the developments of the P8.6 billion
worth of investment prospects of Mindanao drawn from the 2nd BIMP-EAGA and
IMT-GT Trade Fair and Business Leaders conference recently held in the city.
“Certainly, we’ll keep track and
monitor developments of those projects so we’d be able to see conclusions of
those investments discussed in the form of Memorandum of Agreement or Joint
Venture Agreement which will signal the start of the investments,” stated
MinDA’s investment and promotion director Romeo Montenegro.
Montenegro said exchange visits by
companies such as from Thailand and Malaysia will be expected as the generated
investment leads of projects will continue to be explored by Mindanao key players
and foreign counterparts.
Earlier, MinDA said that the Brunei
Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia Philippines–East ASEAN Growth Area and the
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand–Growth Triangle (BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT) initiative
will serve as Mindanao’s platform for the upcoming Economic Community.
“Mindanao is expected to be ahead in
terms of taking advantage of the opportunities in the ASEAN integration,” said
Montenegro who recently graced as among the guest speakers during the 12th
Mindanao Communicators Network Congress held recently in Zamboanga City.
He said among the big ticket
investments that were explored during the BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT business
matching included the proposed coffee plantation in Sultan Kudarat and the oil
palm plantation in North Cotabato amounting to P1.5 billion each.
Another project prospects were the
oil depot in the Polloc Port in Parang, Maguindanao of the Autonomous Region
for Muslim Mindanao worth P440 million and a P350 million worth of corn
processing facility in South Cotabato.
Discussions have also been going on
concerning the possible establishment of connectivity between the Port Labuan
in Malaysia and Polloc Port in Parang, Maguindanao.
Montenegro said the investment
prospects are spread across Mindanao including the Bangsamoro areas, adding
that “efforts to draw investments towards Bangsamoro areas are equally
improving with the anticipated setting up of the Bangsamoro government later
on.”
Mindanao export products will also
be pushed to be able to top into the larger market of Asean which is assured of
600 million consumer population from the ten ASEAN member countries, he said.
Mindanao will also be able to
present itself as investment destination for the production expansion of
several multi-national companies in terms of locating their products in
Mindanao, Montenegro stated.
The MinDA official believed that
Mindanao will have a higher chance of drawing investors, noting its
competitiveness advantages such as the cheaper cost of electricity and the
presence of more productive labor and agriculture sectors.
MinDA has said that “Mindanao will
be positioned as ASEAN’s food basket with the eventual goal of becoming the
primary source of industrial crops, producing mass volumes of essential raw
materials necessary for processing into more valuable products.” (PIA-11/Carina
L. Cayon)
No comments:
Post a Comment