Business Mirror | Thursday, 07 May 2009
Written by Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter
DAVAO CITY—Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said corporate executives representing the big agricultural businesses in Saudi Arabia have raised concerns about the Philippine agrarian reform and limiting foreign land ownership as they indicated interest in acquiring tracts of plantation land and poultry farms.
“They have raised their concern on the effect of these policies on the security of their investment,” Yap told reporters at the sidelines of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Agriculture and Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines at the Apo View Hotel here yesterday.
He said that it was understandable for Saudi business executives to raise such issues “because some of them wanted to acquire thousands of hectares of land for planting, processing and raising livestock and poultry”.
He said the Saudi businessmen wanted to explore the possibility of planting cassava and sugar.
“They are more concerned about the security of their investment than the issues of armed conflict in Central Mindanao,” he said.
“We have to explain these issues extensively to them on how the policy was being implemented to solve the wrong policy on the land, that these policies would not cause them trouble,” he said.
Yap said he also explained that in lieu of wholly owning the land “they could avail [themselves] of a long-term lease of say 50 years and renewable. That’s an entire lifetime, actually,” he said.
He said he would take it up with the Philippine Export Zone Authority to declare some areas in Mindanao as Special Economic Zones “where prices and cost of operation would be a little bit cheaper for these businessman”.
Twenty-six executives of big agriculture companies in Saudi Arabia joined the three-day trade mission organized by the KSA Ministry of Agriculture that began Wednesday in Manila, with a “business matching” activity done between the Saudis and corporate executives in the National Capital Region.
Yap did not say the number and the value of the transactions matched between the Saudi and Filipino businessmen but said he would expect business tie-ups in pineapple and banana corporations.
“Fruits would also be expected to take up immediate agreement,” he said.
Yap said he would explain to the KSA government and business delegation how the twin policies operate to persuade them to push through with their investments in plantations and food processing.
“We will try to convince them to put those big investments, especially that they are focused on food production,” he said.
The Philippines, he said, was expected to double its food requirement in 2015, a projection of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. “At this projection we expect population growth to go by 1.9 percent annually.”
“We have the land, the human resource but we need the investment money, especially from Saudi Arabia. And we need to persuade them that the Philippines is the best country to put [their money in],” he said.
Yap said the Saudi businessmen have expansion projects in Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt, which he said, “have better offers in the cost of doing business.”
“Actually, we also have to work on our side to reduce the cost of power, for instance, which is higher than those charged in those countries. In fact, we are higher than many other Asian countries,” he said.
“We also have to cut on loan interest, because many Middle East countries have much lower interest rates on borrowings than ours,” he said.
Yap said that the KSA trade mission, led by Agriculture Minister Fahad Bal Ghunaim was going around Asia also to explore business potentials.
The KSA mission went on business matching activities yesterday afternoon and was scheduled to visit the banana plantation of the Floirendo-owned Tagum Agricultural Development Corp.
About 30 Filipino corporate executives in Mindanao, including those in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao joined the meeting yesterday at the Apo View Hotel.
Written by Manuel T. Cayon / Reporter
DAVAO CITY—Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said corporate executives representing the big agricultural businesses in Saudi Arabia have raised concerns about the Philippine agrarian reform and limiting foreign land ownership as they indicated interest in acquiring tracts of plantation land and poultry farms.
“They have raised their concern on the effect of these policies on the security of their investment,” Yap told reporters at the sidelines of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Agriculture and Trade and Investment Mission to the Philippines at the Apo View Hotel here yesterday.
He said that it was understandable for Saudi business executives to raise such issues “because some of them wanted to acquire thousands of hectares of land for planting, processing and raising livestock and poultry”.
He said the Saudi businessmen wanted to explore the possibility of planting cassava and sugar.
“They are more concerned about the security of their investment than the issues of armed conflict in Central Mindanao,” he said.
“We have to explain these issues extensively to them on how the policy was being implemented to solve the wrong policy on the land, that these policies would not cause them trouble,” he said.
Yap said he also explained that in lieu of wholly owning the land “they could avail [themselves] of a long-term lease of say 50 years and renewable. That’s an entire lifetime, actually,” he said.
He said he would take it up with the Philippine Export Zone Authority to declare some areas in Mindanao as Special Economic Zones “where prices and cost of operation would be a little bit cheaper for these businessman”.
Twenty-six executives of big agriculture companies in Saudi Arabia joined the three-day trade mission organized by the KSA Ministry of Agriculture that began Wednesday in Manila, with a “business matching” activity done between the Saudis and corporate executives in the National Capital Region.
Yap did not say the number and the value of the transactions matched between the Saudi and Filipino businessmen but said he would expect business tie-ups in pineapple and banana corporations.
“Fruits would also be expected to take up immediate agreement,” he said.
Yap said he would explain to the KSA government and business delegation how the twin policies operate to persuade them to push through with their investments in plantations and food processing.
“We will try to convince them to put those big investments, especially that they are focused on food production,” he said.
The Philippines, he said, was expected to double its food requirement in 2015, a projection of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. “At this projection we expect population growth to go by 1.9 percent annually.”
“We have the land, the human resource but we need the investment money, especially from Saudi Arabia. And we need to persuade them that the Philippines is the best country to put [their money in],” he said.
Yap said the Saudi businessmen have expansion projects in Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt, which he said, “have better offers in the cost of doing business.”
“Actually, we also have to work on our side to reduce the cost of power, for instance, which is higher than those charged in those countries. In fact, we are higher than many other Asian countries,” he said.
“We also have to cut on loan interest, because many Middle East countries have much lower interest rates on borrowings than ours,” he said.
Yap said that the KSA trade mission, led by Agriculture Minister Fahad Bal Ghunaim was going around Asia also to explore business potentials.
The KSA mission went on business matching activities yesterday afternoon and was scheduled to visit the banana plantation of the Floirendo-owned Tagum Agricultural Development Corp.
About 30 Filipino corporate executives in Mindanao, including those in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao joined the meeting yesterday at the Apo View Hotel.
