More than 30 businessmen from Yokohama City in Japan met with Cebu counterparts yesterday in a business matching session held at Hotel Elizabeth in Cebu City.
Norihiko Nomura, director general of the Office of Co-Governance and Creation of the Yokohama Policy Bureau, said that they are willing to partner with local businessmen especially in sustainable urban development.
“We have technologies on wastewater treatment, solid waste management, transportation management and more. We hope to get a lot of collaboration emerging from today,” said Nomura.
Yokohama City, home to 3.7 million people, is experiencing economic growth especially in the industrial sector.
Nomura said Yokohama used to experience similar problems in wastewater, drainage and pollution, which the city solved by using new technology.
Nomura said these are areas Yokohama can work with closely with Cebu businessmen under the sister city agreement with the Cebu City government and Yokohama City.
Cebu business leaders welcomed the delegates and were happy to receive a large group of businessmen come down to Cebu to check what they could offer.
Prudencio Gesta, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, said there were a lot of opportunities for Japanese to invest in Cebu. He said they came at the right time when Cebu was experiencing phenomenal economic growth.
“We will need more sustainable developments in Cebu. You came at the best time,” said Gesta.
Gordon Alan Joseph, Cebu Business Club president, agreed and encouraged all businessmen both Japanese and Cebuano to be friends and do business together.
Philip N. Tan, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, asked the group to look into the potential of Mandaue City, which is strategically located between Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu City.
He said Mandaue is ready to launch its new investment code this month.
The Yokohama Business group arrived in Cebu last Sunday and visited various companies and toured major cities in Cebu looking for opportunities to do business.
Companies include consultancy, metal manufacturers, automobile, telecommunications, engineering, green energy and waste water management, among others.
These include representatives from NTT Docomo, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd, Nippon Steel Corp., and Green Asia Engineering Corp.
The delegation is scheduled to leave Cebu today.