CEBU CITY — Mayor Peter Carlisle of Honolulu, Hawaii said the possibility for their city and county, as well as their businessmen, to invest in Cebu City is “a great idea.”
Carlisle was in the city Sunday and led the delegation of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (FCCH) for its five-day 22nd Trade Mission in the country.
The trade mission seeks to explore business opportunities in Cebu City as well as in Baguio, Clark, Manila and Subic. Their first stop was Cebu City.
During the activity Sunday, the Cebu City government urged the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii and the members of the FCCH to invest here.
Joel Mari Yu, managing director of the Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC), told Carlisle and FCCH that there are a lot of business opportunities here that include, among others, investing at the South Road Properties (SRP).
Yu believes the 300-hectare SRP will be the “driver of Cebu’s economy.” CIPC is the marketing arm of the SRP.
Aside from the SRP, Yu said they can invest in the manufacturing sector as well as in the information technology (IT) and tourism.
He said manufacturers have always been a mainstay in Cebu with the establishment of the Mactan Economic Zone.
Yu said Cebu City has been named as one of the best cities in Asia and has been dubbed an IT hub in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Although it was his first time to visit the country, Carlisle said Cebu City is a suitable place to enter into business ventures.
”Cebu is a place of commerce. There is a lot of activity going on and it is something that we should take advantage,” he said.
Carlisle, who is serving his first term as Honolulu mayor, added that entering into business ventures here would mean strengthening the sister city ties of the governments of Honolulu and Cebu.
”It is critical for sister cities to trade with each other for continued good will and to make the relationship even more vibrant,” he said.
The City and Country of Honolulu is one of the many sister cities of Cebu. It became Cebu City’s sister city in Nov. 29, 2009.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, who welcomed Carlisle and the rest of the delegation Sunday, reiterated the Honolulu mayor’s pronouncement, adding that trade deals with sister cities will bring “international cooperation.”
”It will also bring about true friendship,” he said.
Asked what trade deals have already been made in the pasts considering that it’s already their 22nd Trade Mission, FCCH president Harry Alonzo said it include among other exporting furniture (Cebu) and deals in establishing renewable energy in other areas of the country.
Honolulu has since been implementing a waste-to-energy scheme in managing their solid wastes.
Carlisle said he hopes to visit Cebu City again soon to explore more trade deals and business opportunity. (PNA)
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