CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is looking at reviving its ties with business groups in Japan, particularly with the Himeji Chamber of Commerce.
CCCI president Melanie Ng said that the chamber aims to strengthen its partnership with Himeji Chamber with hopes that they can learn from the latter’s good practices on incubation and SME development.
Ng said they would like to get the input of the Japanese chamber on how to effectively promote business incubation system as well as learn from their practices in developing their homegrown industries or the SMEs.
Himeji is a city in the Kansai region of Japan. Ng said the business sector in this city is well organized and has implemented sound programs for SME development and good incubation system.
Himeji Chamber, she added also has strong partnership with its local ministry of trade and commerce, and this is what CCCI is going to emulate.
Moreover, CCCI also aims to re-establish its links with Hiroshima since its visit last year.
CCCI promoted Cebu's investment opportunities to investors and businessmen in Hiroshima City in Japan when the chamber got invited by the Hiroshima Philippines Friendship Society (HPFS) to the Philippine Business Seminar in this Japanese city.
Next year, CCCI is planning to mount another trade mission to Hiroshima, Ng said.
Early this year, a business delegation from Yokohama City was in Cebu to explore business opportunities. Other business groups from Japan have likewise expressed interest to visit Cebu in the next few months.
Last August, CCCI hosted a six-man delegation from Japan to explore Cebu's potential for investments.
Ng said yesterday that the Japanese investors who visited Cebu for the first time were interested in the fields of banking, finance, enterprise and virtual reality.
The trade mission, according to Ng was made possible by former Japanese consul to Cebu Yoshiaki Hata. (FREEMAN)