Cagayan de Oro to host 19th Mindanao Business Conference

CAGAYAN DE ORO will host the 19th Mindanao Business Conference, the biggest gathering of businessmen in Mindanao, on Sept. 17-18, 2010, at the Grand Caprice Hotel, Limketkai Center, this city.

The “MinBizCon” is the premier venue for presenting Mindanao’s investment opportunities, as well as for linking its business community with investors and buyers, sharing best practices in economic development, and fostering a more competitive business environment.

“It promises to be an exciting event, focusing on energy, shipping, agribusiness, mariculture and other key industries,” said Ralph Paguio, president of the event’s host organization, the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc.

The conference, which is held in a different city each year, is being organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), with support from the Cagayan de Oro City government, USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, the Mindanao Development Authority, and other partners.

“We are happy to bring the MinBizCon back to Cagayan de Oro after several years,” said PCCI chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. “We have seen a lot of development in this area, and it’s fitting to hold the conference here to showcase its business opportunities.”

Paguio said that the Oro Chamber, in partnership with the U.S Commercial Service, will hold its annual OroSest trade show back-to-back with the conference, which will run from September 17 to 18 at the Atrium in Limketkai Center. This year’s theme is: “One. Global. Mindanao. Maximizing Potentials.”

“There will be plenary sessions championing Mindanao’s winners. In these sessions we will be highlighting the key products, or ‘product champions’ of each Mindanao sub-region, which is a new element in the conference format,” said Paguio.
He added that a Mindanao Investment Forum, to be held in Makati, is also being considered as an auxiliary MinBizCon event.

“The Mindanao Business Conference would be an opportune venue for the country’s next president to present the new administration’s Mindanao investment initiatives,” Paguio said. “We are also very interested in government’s plans both for energy security and peace and order.”

The organizers, headed by conference chairman Ruben Vegafria, will meet with line agencies over the coming months to follow up policy recommendations made by the private sector to government at last year’s MinBizCon in Koronadal, even as they consult the business community on current issues and challenges.

The Mindanao Business Conference is one of five area conferences organized qy PCCI. The others are held in North Luzon, South Luzon, the National Capital Region and the Visayas, leading up to the largest business sector gathering at the national level, the annual Philippine Business Conference.

Cagayan de Oro is considered one of the country’s most progressive and dynamic cities. It serves as a base for various multinational companies, many of which are engaged in agro-industry and business process outsourcing. GEM