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| MBC chair foresees 2010 as a good year - Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 14:25 |
| By Jade C. Zaldivar MINDANAO Business Council (MBC) Chairman Vicente Lao forecasts positive vibes for the new year's economic scenario both in Mindanao and in the country. Lao said these are for two reasons: (1) because it is an election year, and (2) the signs for economic opportunities are present. For updates from around the country, follow Sun.Star on Twitter "Pump priming activities will follow as this year's an election year. Although the stimulus is already spent, programs that were allocated for expenditure for 2009, since it's a new year it is expected allocations programmed for 2010 will follow," Lao said. As what has always been in past election years, Lao said, there will be a lot of road construction and improvements, which he said, will also improve and positively affect industries. Complemented by the improved economy of neighboring countries, Lao said, there is a window of opportunity for the country especially Mindanao's agriculture sector. This early, there is already a rebound in fruit exports, he said, and Mindanao can only expect an even better export industry this year. "Specifically, China has begun buying more Class A bananas when before they only buy Class B and C. Even though there are issues such as aerial spraying that have continued to pester that cluster an opening would still give it a boost. This would really give it a boost," he said. "For the Philippines, since the fundamentals are already in place, such as the recent BIMP-Eaga (Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines East Asian Growth Area) memorandum of agreement with China, this would open a lot of opportunities for the country," Lao said. Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on January 1, 2010. Source : http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/mbc-chair-foresees-2010-good-year |