‘International Business Confab in Cebu is On’

A historic business and economic summit, where some of the best in the world is expected to attend is happening in Cebu in May this year.

Dubbed the ‘Open Collaboration with East Asia New Champions (OCEAN), is a sanctioned activity of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which drew enthusiasm from the business and political leaders in the province.

“ I am so excited that it is going to happen in Cebu… in behalf of the Cebu business community we thank you, ” Ma. Theresa Chan, the Pres. of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) emphatically said.

The CCCI and the OCEAN summit organizers signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the event on Monday at the Casino Español de Cebu which was also graced by Gov. Hilario Davide lll and other top Cebu business leaders.

OCEAN summit chairman is renowned IT expert Winston Damarillo who gained prominence in the Silicon Valley, California in the U.S.A. and ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Karen Davila, his co-chair, both named as among the Young Global Leaders (YGL) in 2010 of the Switzerland based, WEF.

Cebu’s Best Chance and Platform

Gov. Davide said the forum will be beneficial for Cebu, describing the activity as the province’s best chance in the global business arena.

“It will be Cebu’s best chance not only for tourism that it will certainly bring but more importantly for putting Cebu in the minds of the business leaders in Asia and the world,” Davide remarked.

The Cebu Governor cited the business potentials of the province, shipbuilding and copper mining in the western side (Balamban and Toledo City), food processing and manufacturing, furniture, electronic and semi-conductor assembly, business process outsourcing (BPO), underscoring its edge in human resource since Cebu is considered as the educational center for the Visayas and Mindanao having been the site of at least 20 universities and colleges.

Chan described the activity as the province’s best platform by showcasing what the Philippines have, as the OCEAN meet from May 23-25 is the open session conference of the 23rd World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia which will took place in Shangrila, Makati two days earlier.

“Cebu is the best platform to showcase what the Philippines is and what the Philippines can do,” Chan stressed.

Being the host country, the main conference in Metro Manila will have government participants led by Pres. Benigno Aquino and Finance Sec. Purisima, which would discussed mostly on the ASEAN Integration in 2015 and its related economic issues as well making the Philippines as benchmark for good governance.

Talks for the Future

Another prominent Filipino YGL winner, John Echauz, of Standard Insurance Company, who incidentally is an inventor shared how he felt after he attended the WEF confab and won last year.

“This one is about the future. The future will be here. It will be relevant for all of us. They will be talking things that will change the world not just for them but for all of us,” Echauz said.

Echauz earned a niche in invention after he with two others invested the “floody car bag” in 2009 after the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy where their invention would keep a car afloat in floodwaters by just driving one’s car into it, sealed it and to keep it dry while floating.

Among the notable YGL winners were Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams and You Tube co-founder Chad Hurley.

Floating Hospital

Businessman Manny Osmeña of Manny O. Wines and Movenpick Resort and Spa in Punta Engano, Mactan where the OCEAN conference will be held broached the idea of building a floating hospital for the country.

Osmena who has built houses for Supertyphoon Yolanda survivors along with Gawad Kalinga revealed the hospital would best serve during calamities and disasters especially typhoons and floods because the Philippines is archipelagic.

“What is needed really since we are more than 10, 000 islands and we are prone to disaster and calamity is a floating hospital, which is a hospital on a ship,” Osmena suggested.

According to Osmena some of his businessmen associates, the Taipans, are supported of the project, airing optimism that through the OCEAN, the floating medical facility will be realized.

Osmena’s philanthropic action on the Yolanda survivors is by earmarking a portion of the room revenues of his world-class beach resort hotel while he also gave assurance that he will share some for his envisioned floating hospital project.

Cebuano business tycoon Jim Aboitiz meanwhile also shared his optimism on the confab.

He is listed as the EVP of Aboitiz Powers and then Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO).

“This is something which is a lot of interest to us, something we think which is really important for Cebu, for the Philippines. Really such a high calibre of people in this event,” Aboitiz commented.

Jay Aldeguer of the Island Groups who has been designated as the Global Shapers Cebu Hub founding curator meanwhile bared that he is continuing to identify the Cebuano young leaders that will comprise the core group of the hub.

Among the intent of the forum is the establishment of Innovation Zones, similar to that of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) locators which are mostly foreign but the difference would be to provide special treatment to small businesses to make them globally competitive.

Think of Cebu

CCCI Pres. Chan best said on what would be the outcome of the OCEAN conference.

She said it should make the participants remember Cebu and think of it as haven for business.

“We will make them feel, taste, smell and breathe Cebu. We will make them always think of Cebu as top of (their) mind wherever they think of investment and expand,” Chan said.

The launching of the activity on Monday was also graced by Philip Tan, the President of the Mandaue City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).

The WEF confab comes as the International Monetary Fund raised its 2014 economic forecast for the country, pegging it at 6.5% while Standard and Poors raised it to 6.6%, owing to its strong economic fundamentals.