Iloilo City picked best investment site
Iloilo City -- A recent survey conducted by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center has chosen Iloilo City as one of the twenty best investment sites in the country.
The survey identified five metropolitan, five mid-sized and 10 small cities as having business environments viewed as favorable by investors under the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005.
Iloilo City was one of the five cities identified under the mid-sized cities category that have more than 200,000 residents, together with Bacolod, Batangas, Iligan, and San Fernando, Pampanga.
The metropolitan cities picked by the AIM Policy Center are Davao, Las Piņas, Makati, Marikina and Muntinlupa. Metropolitan cities are those located in Metro Manila which has 14, Metro Cebu which has four and Metro Davao which has one.
The small cities category, or those with populations of less than 200,000 had 10 cities cited. These are Dagupan, Koronadal, Legaspi, Naga, Olongapo, San Fernando, La Union; Sta. Rosa, Surigao, Tagbilaran and Tagum.
The survey, which covered 65 of 117 cities nationwide, is the fourth done by the AIM Policy Center and was conducted from June to October last year.
Some of the factors considered for the selection were cost of doing business, linkages to major urban and growth centers, dynamism of the local economy, human resources and training, infrastructure adequacy and quality, the responsiveness of the local government to business needs and quality of life.
AIM Policy Center executive director Federico Macaranas said that some of the lessons learned in the survey is the need for the national government to hasten support, especially in terms of infrastructure and capital investments.
The central government should also boost the legal and political framework for partnership at regional levels and device more efficient fund release mechanisms, Macaranas added.
Meanwhile, a visibly elated Mayor Jerry P. Treņas told members of the City Hall Press Corps that the result of the AIM survey manifests the hard work exerted by his administration and by the private sector to make the city truly business-friendly. (Eireen A. Manikan/PIO)