RP, US entities matched successfully

National President
Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Associations

Los Angeles, California – The information communication technology (ICT) sector in the Philippines bagged at least eight potential or actual businesses during a unique Nov. 6-7 encounter between Filipino and American enterprises at the Hilton Burbank Convention Center in Burbank, California. The conference dubbed "First ICT, Investment, Real Estate & Tourism Business Conference & Expo was a complete success.

The need for a hands-on marketing program is the one good lesson that the CREBA delegation learned from this conference in our effort to tap US companies. And the business matching scheme adopted by the conference organizers is one such approach, perhaps, the only one in getting US companies to the business transactions room. Another big help is the organizers’ commitment to follow up on transactions commenced during the conference to its full consummation.

What impressed us most was the unique conference arrangements. Although the conference was small in terms of space and number of participants, with a hotel as venue, the quality of the event was noteworthy and its complete success was attained particularly in the business matching components of the conference where the organizers pre-arranged a one on one meeting between Philippines and US participants. Conference organizers headed by lawyer Enrique C. Andres, the CEO of Asia Expo Organization Corporation, should be commended for doing a great job.

This promotion scheme for Philippine trade could be an eye-opener for government trade and tourism offices. They should tap motivated private sectors such as the organizers of the event. It provided a good venue and a great opportunity for meeting potential partners right in the convention itself where a very prolific business relationship could be started.

What certainly helped the meeting as much: for the first time, the premier office of the US Department of Commerce, Office of Commercial Service, lent its support and name to the conference. It was heartwarming to see the Office of the US Commercial Attache in the US Embassy in Manila giving its full support to the Philippine delegates by allowing the use of its video conferencing facilities during the promotion stage of the conference. The US Commercial Attache officers based in Manila, Val Huston and Aida Miranda, accompanied the Philippine delegates to the convention.

Recent tragic and catastrophic events did not deter the CREBA delegation from proceeding to join the trade and real estate mission to Los Angeles. In a speech delivered at the conference, I was assigned the difficult task of talking on the good prospects of the real estate industry in the Philippines amid a worldwide economic plunge.

The Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector got the most of the conference advantages because US companies, which need to outsource their back-end operations, were offered cost outing opportunities and were marched with Philippine based in ICT companies. Moreover, most US based businesses and investors in attendance were presented the options to extend their global reach to the Philippines for their products and services. The components of the delegates were: 76 delegates from 37 Philippine companies, 145 delegates from 97 US companies (including walk-ins) or a total of 221 delegates from 182 US and Philippine attendees. Website hits showing good interest to the event were collated as follows: August 2001 (7,352 hits), September 2001 (40,228 hits), and October 2001 (87,284 hits).

The CREBA delegation was composed of A.C. Realon Realty & Development Corporation, JCR Holding Corporation, La Savoie Development Corporation, Moldex Group of Companies, Royal Venture Group of Companies, S.N. Realty Homes & Development Corporation, The Lakeshore Marketing Corporation, Union Bank of the Philippines, V.V. Soliven Realty Corporation, Concrete Ventures Group, Inc., Goldest Group, Rosmil Realty Development Corporation, Baywatch Realty Marketing Company, CSDT Realty, Rina Corporation, Primenet Realty Corporation, F. S. Dulalia Realty, Pipeline Engineering, and G. Alcantara Holdings.

The owners and officers of the realty companies were given the rare opportunity to meet with potential marketing arms of their housing projects and other development projects in the United States. A financial institution, the East-West Bank, A San Marino, Southern California based banking institution and one of the largest US banks, proposed a financial package to Philippine real estate developers. US buyers of land, housing units and development projects can be financed through their home equity loans. It can be used to pay all their real estate purchase from Philippine real estate companies. "We have done financing packages to Philippine real estate developers under the guarantee of the Export-Import Bank", said Mr. Peter Ramirez, vice-presidet, international banking, East-West Bank. Mr. K.Y. Cheng, a top management leader of the bank delineated in his speech the procedures to avail of the financial package, both in the real estate and ICT industry, under the guarantee of the Import-Export Bank. The ban was also represented ruing the conference.

The conference was full of more success stories, which may be seen on the Asia Expo Organization website: http://www.asiaexpo/p.com containing interesting pages such as complete list of participants, business matching results and comments from delegates.

For its 2002 projects for the Philippines, the Asia Expo Organization intends to bring the Philippines to other noteworthy conventions in the United States. On deck is the 2002 World Travel Expo on March 8-10, 2002 at the plush Los Angeles Convention Center. A travel and tourism convention which will be attended by other countries worldwide. It is a MUST for the Philippines to take part in these conventions.