Bacolod lands top 5 in the 10 next wave cities for ICT
BACOLOD CITY -- City Administrator Dr. Roger Balo was designated by Mayor Evelio Leonardia as presentor for Bacolod City in the Nine e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition held at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia in Pasay City, February 9, 2009
All presentors were given 10 minutes to expound on the readiness of their particular cities and Balo spoke on Bacolod City’s assets that qualifies it for the 10 next-wave cities for Information Communication Technology (ICT).. The City of Smiles was the 2nd city presented after Legaspi City.
The presentors were also given a chance to tele-conference with a panel of New York investors during the occasion.
Listed among Bacolod’s assets were its socio-economic profile, human resource, the cost of doing business and the business environment. Balo also elaborated on the awards that the city has received such as the Most Business-Friendly City Award, among others, that make Bacolod an ideal business destination for investors.
Bacolod comes next to Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao as ICT destination. It is named as one of the top 5 among the 10 next-wave cities for such investment.
At least 2 investors are planning to come to Bacolod to see for themselves the socio-economic environment. One of them is Michael Chua, a businessman who wants to expand into medical transmission, a non-voice service, in the city. The other is Bernardino Custorio, Chief Executive Officer of Transcript King of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The latter is calling within the week regarding his visit and his intention to meet people from Bacolod city hall and possible contact persons who Are familiar with the European culture and the British accent.
Bacolod City had a booth at the SMX Convention Center of the Mall of Asia in Pasay City manned by Permits and Licensing Head Ardis Jaculina and Tourism Officer Butch Gerasmo. It exhibited information about Bacolod such as our manpower capacity for ICT such as our graduates from the local universities. Tourism brochures and leis were given away as “come-ons” to the attendees of the conference.
The conference was sponsored by the Dept. of Trade and Industry and the National Information and Communication Technology Council of the Philippines. The latter is composed of different conference councils nationwide. The conference lasted for 2 days – February 9 and 10, 2009.