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)