RP governor offers trade opportunities

RP governor offers trade opportunities

JAKARTA (JP): Visiting governor of Nueva Ecija in the central
Luzon region of the Philippines, Tomas N. Joson, has invited
Jakarta's entrepreneurs to invest their money in his province.

On the other hand, he said, businessmen from Neuva Ecija would
like to market their products in Jakarta.

"I hope to open markets for our products in Jakarta and to get
products from Jakarta to be sold over there," Tomas told The
Jakarta Post after paying a courtesy call on Governor Sutiyoso at
the latter's office in City Hall.

"I'm inviting Governor Sutiyoso and Jakarta investors to visit
our province to seek out business opportunities. Perhaps they can
establish manufacturing plants there," he said.

The province of Nueva Ecija is about 90 kilometers north of
Manila and is primarily agricultural producing crops such as
rice, ginger, onions, and fruit. The province has a population of
more than one million.

Tomas also said it was important for both provinces to jointly
try to overcome the economic crisis affecting the region.

"It's not only Jakarta that has been hit by the economic
crisis but also the rest of the region. We can, for example,
establish good cooperation so as to overcome the crisis as soon
as possible," he said, without giving further details.

Chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Pungky Bambang Purwadi, said he
would organize a delegation to visit Nueva Ecija.

"I still have to discuss it with my colleagues, especially
those involved in the agroindustry sector," he said. (nvn)