Bitung in Indonesia is just a 90-minute car drive from Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi island in Indonesia, but Domingo Teng’s high mood hasn’t worn off yet as he talked about his group’s tuna canning project, P.T. Sinar, which produces and exports canned tuna to the US market.

”We wanted to make sure we can produce and supply world-class tuna products to consumers worldwide, We also want to provide employment and livelihood to many people,” said Teng, a fishing tycoon who also runs a big shopping mall in General Santos City.

The joint Philippine-Indonesian venture has generated around 1,000 jobs for Indonesians and imports some 80 percent of all its raw tuna requirements from General Santos tuna fishermen, benefiting thousands of Filipino fishermen families there.

Private investors like Teng and his Indonesian partners have been credited for keeping the concept of BIMP-Eaga alive during the last 10 years after the 1997 Asian financial crisis that crippled the economies of most Southeast Asian cities including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Another tuna canning factory, the P.T. Samudra Sentosa, just a stone’s throw away from P.T. Sinar in Bitung, was also set up in the North Sulawesi island some years ago after its Filipino owners were inspired and motivated by the BIMP-Eaga concept.

Trade Assistant Secretary Merly Cruz said they want to see more private sector-driven projects to boost the engine of growth in BIMP-Eaga, especially projects whose output serves the needs of global markets.

”This is the kind of private investments and joint ventures we like to see being forged between private investors of the four member Eaga members,” Cruz said.

More venture opportunities for private investors are opening up at the coming BIMP Investment Conference on October 22-23 at the Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City.

This conference is expected to gather hundreds of traders and investors not only from the four Eaga countries, but also from other more developed countries like China, Korea, Australia, Japan, Europe and the Unites States.

Cruz said they expect more joint ventures among other Eaga countries to be forged during the BIMP Investment Conference. Discussions among participants are expected to help generate project ideas, especially those addressing the widening gaps which Eaga member countries cannot solve on their own.

”Our one-on-one business matching can lead to strategic alliances and joint ventures among private investors,” said Cruz as preparations are underway among the working committees at the BIMP-Eaga Business Council, Department of Trade and Industry, Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco), and other agencies involved in the planning and preparations.

Different exhibit booths of various groups, institutions, and government agencies from each member countries are expected to showcase their business opportunities and investment potentials during the conference.