Monday, September 7, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES [ BusinessWorld Online ]
ILOILO AND GUIMARAS face promising prospects in the fields of information and communication technology (ICT), agriculture and fisheries, as well as tourism.
Speaking in an Iloilo-Guimaras investment forum last Friday at the InterContinental Hotel in Makati City, Iloilo Economic Development Foundation Inc. president Rex C. Drilon II said that the province of Iloilo is pushing to become a major investment destination for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, as well as in the areas of agriculture, fisheries and tourism. Mr. Drilon said the province has chosen to focus on the BPO industry, as schools there produce 18,000 ICT graduates each year.
Oscar R. Sañez, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) COO, said in his presentation that Iloilo should take advantage of its large manpower pool to attract more BPO-information technology companies. Mr. Sañez said there are seven BPO firms employing 4,420 full-time employees (FTEs) in Iloilo, but this should be raised to more than 20,000. "Iloilo has an absorptive capacity of 22,300 FTEs, while there are only 4,420 actual employees. Utilization rate is only 20%," he said.
The BPA/P presentation showed that while Metro Manila accounts for 25% of the graduating population in the country, it holds 80% of IT-BPO jobs. The Visayas accounts for 21% of all graduates, but has only 10% of IT-BPO jobs.
Mr. Drilon said Iloilo also targets to lure investments in a mariculture park being planned in the province. "The mariculture park will be like an industrial park where you have fish cages, processing as well as deboning facilities and packaging so that the fish products could readily be transported and available for sale."
Charry L. Galia, Guimaras Provincial Economic Development Office chief, said in the same forum that the province targets investments in agriculture citing its current products such as rice, coconuts and mangoes.
Mr. Drilon and Ms. Galia also noted both provinces’ tourism potentials, citing Guimaras’ white sand beaches and Iloilo’s heritage spots and the new Iloilo International Airport.
Investor concerns in Iloilo are flooding, insufficient electricity and water, while the lack of modern port facilities is Guimaras’ main challenge. — F. A. L. Angelo in Iloilo City and LDD in Manila
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