DAVAO CITY, Oct. 20 (PNA) — As realization of the ASEAN Economic Community nears by 2015, proposals for business partnerships within and among the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) keep coming.
Undersecretary Janet M. Lopoz, executive director of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) at a press conference on Monday, said of the 100 business proposals up for partnerships within the BIMP-EAGA, 73 were already pre-matched and 10 projects are already nearing closure of negotiations.
The ASEAN integration which is set to go full swing by 2015 is one of the major highlights of the 2nd BIMP-EAGA Trade Fair and Business Leaders’ Conference from Oct. 22-26 at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center.
The projects nearing closure are mostly in agriculture specifically on cacao, and coco sugar, and some on solar energy and food and manufacturing and involving about five Philippine companies. Interested partners are mostly from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
Lopoz confirmed the above-mentioned figures are indicative which means businesses are pre-matched based on the interest of the concerned business groups or individuals.
She confirmed that as of last week there were already 540 participants who formally registered to participate in big business event. Of this, 160 have already arrived in the city.
MinDA has estimated each delegate or visitor to spend about P4,000 a day. For the initial 540 registered delegates, MinDA estimated the city to rake in an average of P17 million for their four-day stay in the city.
The BIMP-EAGA fair, focusing on the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) is expecting some 800 delegates and 250 exhibitors.
The overall event is expected to bring in 200,000 visitors and generate up to 64-million-dollar worth of transactions.
“All the booths are fully booked with 50 for the BIMP countries, 10 for Thailand and 40 for local companies,” Lopoz said.
MinDA has also estimated about P14.85 million initial revenues from flight bookings as of last week.
The BIMP-EAGA fair, focusing on the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT).
Lopoz, however, clarified these are all estimates but expected to rise towards the actual big event.
Aside from ASEAN integration issues, the event which according to Lopoz is the biggest international event in Davao City for the year will primarily send an important message. The main message of which is, the Philippine’s has the vantage point due to its geographic location and proximity.
Meanwhile, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director Vicente Danao Jr. has reiterated his assurance for security measures are in place to keep the visitors safe the event successful.
He had earlier confirmed that about 2,000 policemen are currently mobilized to secure the BIMP-EAGA four-day event. However, this would reach up to 4,000 including auxiliaries and PNP augmentation forces from nearby cities and provinces which are already on standby as the need for more assistance arises. (PNA)