International chamber helps AsPac firms expand, enter new markets

MANILA, Philippines - Companies aiming to enter new markets or to expand their trade of products or services in Asia and Western Pacific economies can avail themselves of the trade facilitation services of the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce (CACCI).

This was according to Amb. Benedicto V. Yujuico, president of CACCI and a vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

Over the last 44 years, Yujuico said CACCI has been enabling companies and individual businessmen to start, develop, and sustain business deals in 29 regional economies.

With CACCI regional economies sharing 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic products, opportunities are open for large and small and medium enterprises in agriculture, energy, tourism, transportation, environment, infrastructures, property, banking and finance, labor, information technology and electronics, and services.

Recent facilitated deals here include shipments of Philippine bananas to non-traditional markets under barter arrangements, purchase of refined petroleum products, and investments in a local petrochemical industrial factory. Proposals under study are for plantation agriculture in Mindanao to supply food to the Middle East, and private-public partnerships for Philippine infrastructures. Economies such as Taiwan have presented major opportunities to supply products or services under their multi-year electronics development and tourism development plans. 

Yujuico said CACCI’s influence was due to the memberships of apex chambers of commerce in Australasia (Australia, New Zealand. and Papua New Guinea), Southeast Asia (Asean member-countries), North Asia (Mongolia, Russia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan), South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Central Asia (Georgia, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan).

CACCI is granted consultative status under the United Nations as a non-government organization for business.

The apex chamber here is the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI). It receives requests for trade facilitation services of CACCI for key market information, market opportunities or potential business partners and other contacts (distributors, agents, suppliers). CACCI spreads these requests throughout its strong network of chamber-members.

This network owns the accumulated expert knowledge on trade agreements, bilateral business and market entry. Businessmen, of course, can do market research on their own. But the risks are high that decisions based on inconclusive information and unreliable contacts would cause costly detours.

CACCI holds conferences to discuss and distill viewpoints and ideas with the aim of achieving economic cooperation and development in the region. Business leaders meet counterparts for confidence building and contacts. The 25th CACCI Conference was held last March in Istanbul, Turkey.

CACCI benefits members through policy advocacy, professional development program, membership expansion, relationships with other regional and international organizations, and development of product and service councils.

The product and service councils are a market place where business deals are initiated and completed. There are specific councils for similar lines in food and agriculture; water, energy and environment; infrastructure, contracting and construction; health and education; mining and mineral resources and garment council. Participation is open to manufacturers, producers or providers of services, traders, and suppliers.

The councils serve as a fora to identify issues that raise costs of transactions. Participants recommend specific programs to accelerate regional cooperation in trade, technology transfer, capital flows and exchange of information. These recommendations seek to resolve barriers to trade, change cumbersome customs procedures, rationalize tariff walls, or cut transaction costs. Because of CACCI’s consultative status with the UN, these proposals are submitted to governments or UN economic agencies.

CACCI contact numbers are 846-8196 at the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (and 421-7189 Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) Manila secretariat office.