ILOILO CITY—The provincial and city governments of Iloilo welcomed the India Business Roadshow yesterday, which was expected to attract investments.
The Embassy of India’s Economic and Commerce counselor Nishikant Singh who was joined by representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and India Business Forum Philippine Association Inc. (IBF) paid a courtesy visit to Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. and Mayor Jerry Treñas of this city on May 10 as they informed the officials of the investment forum.
The IBF consists of country heads, CEOs and representatives from Philippines-based Indian companies.
In a press conference, Defensor said the province is ready to bring-in the business sector as a response to their request for business-to-business or business-to-government sessions with Indian firms.
“They are planning to expand [business-process outsourcing or BPO here in Iloilo via voice-over Internet protocol or VOIP],” Defensor said. “They also want to increase our…cultural [exchanges], because they said that many of their countrymen would want to come here as tourists.”
Treñas, in a statement, said the upcoming event shows the efforts of the city to provide a business-friendly environment which has already resulted in investors coming-in to bring more employment opportunities not only in Iloilo City but the whole of Western Visayas.
“Iloilo is one of the important centers for us to focus on. And through [the] India Business Roadshow, we would also like Indian companies to see Iloilo, and [feel the opportunities available] there,” Singh stated, as he said the platform was a venue where Indian companies and Filipino businesses met and talked to each other.
“It [was a good opportunity. For the first time, this India Business Roadshow happened in Iloilo…so it was] the start of a journey,” the counselor added.
The business forum will be the sixth of the series of roadshows by the Embassy of India.
Together with the PCCI, six initial sectors have been identified as the focus of the forum, including information technology and business process management, health care, agriculture (agrochemical and irrigation), automobile, renewable energy (waste to energy), as well as tourism and services.
Meanwhile, Defensor said the sectors that were identified met the development thrusts of the province in maximizing agricultural production, creating a value chain, and in the process generating employment and businesses for agricultural tourism.
Image credits: Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo/PNA
