News From : DagangHalal.com (25 Sep 2009)
THE members of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) have expressed interest to invest in the Philippines, particularly in rice and coffee production and in banana trading.
The JCCI members made their intention to President Arroyo when she received the JCCI delegation at the Jeddah Conference Palace.
The delegation was led by JCCI chairman Sheik Abdulqader Al Fadel, who is also the chairman of the Al Fadel Group of Companies, the largest diversified group in the Saudi Arabia.
“Sheikh Sharbatly has been buying bananas from Davao, especially from the Florendo Group, since the ’70s and wants to buy more bananas from the Philippines,” said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.
He described the meeting between the President and the JCCI as “very significant” because of the participation of two prominent Saudi businesswomen, Dr. Lama Abdulazziz Sulaiman and Malhany Abadia Hassoon.
Remonde said these two entrepreneurs are the prime movers in the involvement of women in business and public administration in the kingdom.
“They would like to get more deeply involved with their counterparts in the Philippines,” Remonde said.
He noted that the President forms trade delegations and holds trade meeting in her foreign trips, whose policy seems to be “business-friendly.”
He said businessmen who were able to deal with the President recognized her hard-working habits and have come to appreciate this aspect of her presidency.
The JCCI members include Sheik Abdullah Marie bin Mahfouz, chairman of the Marie Bin Mafouz Group, a diversified group interested in mining, halal food production, rice farming and banana and coffee growing; and Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Sharbatly, chairman of the firm that bears his name, one of the largest importers of Philippine bananas in the Middle East.