SOUTHERN LUZON's businesses are keen on
taking advantage of the regional integration planned for Southeast Asia by
2015, with a statement on Friday saying a conference next week will discuss
opportunities and impact from that development.
"We
believe that we will benefit from heightened free trade in ASEAN (Association
of Southeast Asian Nations) and even the wider Asia-Pacific region," Juan
Martin Barredo, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry's
chapter in Rizal, said in a phone interview on Friday.
"This
will make exports -- not only from Southern Luzon but from all over the
Philippines -- more competitive in the global market.”
Small-
and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) will also receive a boost from the ASEAN
Economic Community (AEC) that will be formed in 2015 which is expected to
facilitate flow of trade and investments within the 10-nation bloc, Mr. Barredo
said.
"This
will somehow level the playing field and allow SMEs to compete with the
exporting giants," he added.
Food
exports, handicrafts and other "cottage industry" products will be
among the growth sectors, Mr. Barredo noted, even as he added that industrial
products, especially those from economic zones in Region IV-A
(Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon, or Calabarzon), will also benefit from
the AEC.
Data
from the ASEAN Web site show the Philippines was the sixth biggest exporter in
the 10-nation bloc, with outbound shipments totaling $51.43 billion in 2010.
It
followed Singapore ($371.19 billion), Malaysia ($198.8 billion), Thailand
($195.31 billion), Indonesia ($157.78 billion) and Vietnam ($72.19 billion).
The AEC
will be one of the key issues to be discussed in the South Luzon Area Business
Conference slated for June 14 and 15 in Taytay, Rizal with the theme,
"PCCI Invest 2012: Driving Business Enterprises Towards Global
Competitiveness," the PCCI said in a statement on Friday.
About
300 delegates from the government and the private sector in Calabarzon,
Mimaropa (Occidental Mindoro-Oriental Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan, or
Region IV-B) and Bicol (Region V) are expected to attend the event.
Speakers
include Trade Undersecretary Merly M. Cruz and Assistant Secretary Ramon T.
Kabigting, as well as Science and Technology Undersecretary
Carol
M. Yorobe, PCCI said.
Kim
Arveen M. Patria
Business & Investment Opportunities
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