BIMP-EAGA bats for direct trade, investment agreements with China

THE Brunei Darussalam-IndonesiaMalaysia- Philippines (BIMP) sub-regional grouping within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is looking at direct trade with China to cash in on Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative.

Representatives of the BIMPEast ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) attended the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Seminar held at Nanning, Guangxi in mid- September, the first time that the sub-grouping participated in a trade and investment dialogue with China.

“I hope that we can start exploring new partnerships that are now more inclined on business ventures with mutual benefits,” said Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Alonto, the Philippines’ BIMPEAGA signing minister and chair of the Mindanao Development Authority.

BIMP- EAGA covers Brunei Darussalam; the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, as well as Irian Jaya, the Indonesian portion of the island of New Guinea; the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and territory of Labuan; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.

Mr. Alonto, in a statement, said China has been one of the development partners of BIMP-EAGA since 2009, through a Framework of Economic Cooperation, which has paved the way for various technical assistance and learning exchanges, such as in the Sub-marine Terrestrial Cable System project.

The Philippine official said the sub- region’s members now want to expand that partnership with China towards investment and trade.

“You have the technology here, but we have the natural resources,” Mr. Alonto said at the forum, citing that BIMP-EAGA is being positioned as ASEAN’s food basket.

Ties with China, he added, will help BIMP- EAGA achieve “the long- term goal of a Pan- Asian connectivity.”

China’s “Belt and Road” policy, launched in 2013, involves investing in and underwriting billions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects along the old Silk Road linking the country with Europe via land and sea.

Mr. Alonto said he is looking forward to seeing Chinese missions to EAGA member-countries in the coming months.

“I am proud to say that the strong and sustained private and public partnership has been one of the strengths of this economic cooperation. With this... potential investment partners here in China can be assured of a conducive business environment within the sub-region.”