(CEBU CITY, Cebu) — Cebu’s provincial government is planning to create more economic zones and is drawing up strategies to enhance port facilities, as it gears up for increased foreign investment from the province’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.
“I am confident that after the (APEC) meetings here, there would be foreign economies and even foreign businessmen, who would express interest in investing here in Cebu,” said Governor Hilario Davide III, chair of the APEC Cebu Organizing Committee.
Governor Davide said he expects investments to pour into the manufacturing sector, particularly fashion accessories, gift items and food; tourism; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); and the services sector.
“Services, that’s one of the key (economic) drivers here in Cebu,” he noted. “We encourage the private sector to also focus on MSMEs in the countryside. We want to develop the countryside as much as we can, to provide economic opportunities to Cebuanos there.”
To seize these investment opportunities, the governor underscored the need to enhance port facilities.
He said the Cebu Provincial Planning and Development Office, along with the local government units, are also looking at the possibility of establishing more economic zones for future investment.
Setting up more economic zones is one of the programs the government is considering for the future, he said, adding that this has been requested by potential investors.
Davide also assured prospective investors that the Cebu Investment Promotions Office is creating a business-friendly climate, especially for foreign investors.
Some 3,000 delegates are attending the APEC meetings here that run from August 22 to September 11. (PNA)