The Yucatan Peninsula has attracted the attention of businessmen from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, as the ambassadors of these countries, who are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), are seriously considering to invest in the region.
At a press conference, representatives of these Asian nations, known as the Asian Tigers for their intrepid economic growth, stated that only last year, Mexico’s commercial exchange with these countries accounted for more than 20 billion US dollars, but nothing was destined for the Yucatan Peninsula.
Commerce and tourism is the main option to establish a direct link with Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán, said the Indonesian Ambassador to Mexico, Cheppy Triprakoso Wartono.
He clarified that ASEAN is made up of 10 nations of that region of the world, of which the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are members, whose economy of each nation grows between five and six percent per year, due to its highly effective and well developed international trade practices.
However, there is minimal commercial exchange with Mexico, and even more with the Yucatan Peninsula, so they seek to establish commercial links with their counterparts in this region.
Only Vietnam invests about 5 billion dollars annually in Mexico; in the case of Thailand, the figure comes up to 3.4 billion dollars; Malaysia, 2.4 billion; Philippines, 1.5 billion, and Indonesia, 100 million dollars.
The ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Mexico, Nguyen Hoai Duong, explained that in the last decade, the commercial exchange registered an annual increase of 10 to 15 percent.
Likewise, the First Secretary and consul of the Philippines, Carmela Teresa Cabreira, explained that, when it comes to investment in Mexico, her country mostly invests in the automotive sector and the export of coconut oil.
The Malaysian ambassador, Muzafar Shah Bin Mustafa, announced that this year, businessmen from this Asian nation will invest 800 thousand dollars in marine oil exploration, in addition to home appliances products exports to Mexico.
The head of business of the Thai Embassy, Nadariya Nopakun Phromyothi, said they are looking for a direct link with entrepreneurs in the region.
For his part, the Deputy President of the Mexican Council of Foreign Trade (COMCE), Juan José Abraham Daguer, stressed that Yucatan has great potential to export local products to those nations in Asia.
To learn about the advantages offered by these countries, businessmen and government officials from Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán met in Merida with three ambassadors and two commercial representatives from Southeast Asia.
“The first objective of this meeting is for Yucatecan entrepreneurs to get to know these Asian countries better, learn about their business opportunities, what do they produce and what do they need. And of course, let them know what the Yucatan Peninsula has to offer”, Juan José Abraham Daguer concluded.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom
