MCCI to forge ties with Gangwon group

By Nancy R. Cudis
THE Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) plants to forge ties with a chamber of commerce in South Korea for the second time, its president said.

Fresh from a business trip with Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia in South Korea last week, MCCI president Eric Mendoza said they are working on sealing a sister chamber agreement with Gangwon, South Korea.

MCCI, though, is still in the process of forming a technical committee in cooperation with the Cebu Provincial Government.

The committee will work on the details of the agreement, including viability of direct flights and trade opportunities between Cebu and Gangwon.

The agreement, Mendoza said, will also enhance cultural exchange and technical cooperation as well as attract investments between the two provinces.

“What is particularly nice is that (South) Korea is a growth center. There is growth within the country. It is a good investment haven and a new market,” he said.

He pointed out that the South Korean economy grew 2.6 percent in the second quarter this year, which he considered “laudable at this time of the global economic crisis.”

The growth was reported to have been driven by consumer spending and business and construction investment.

“You cannot ignore that South Korea is now investing abroad. Much more that we want to get a portion of those investments (here),” he said.

Mendoza said South Korea's investments abroad include power, car distribution, car manufacturing, and supply chain of industries like electronics.

In Cebu, some Korean investments are Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa developed by Philippine BXT Corp. in Lapu-Lapu City and power firm Korean Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) in Naga, Cebu—a joint venture of Korean-owned Kepco Philippines Corp. and SPC Power Corp.

If the sister chamber agreement with Gangwon Chamber pushes through, it will be the second international business chamber with ties to the MCCI. The first one is the Vladimir Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Russia.

Cebu and Gangwon became sister-provinces in 2008. The recent visit had taken their sisterhood in more specific areas, such as knowledge exchange and trade exhibition.

While Cebu is being promoted as a honeymoon destination in Korea, Mendoza urged the province to learn from Korea's “green revolution” practices that enabled its residents, especially those in the countryside, to be self-sufficient.