Roco sees NMI potentials on digital technology

It may be harder for the Northern Marianas to lure Filipino businessmen into putting up investments on the information technology here but the Philippines can continue to be a major contributor to the diversification of the CNMI into the digital sector through easy access to the country’s vast number of skilled workforce.

Information technology has positioned itself to be a critical element for economic growth which now provides link between each of the world’s economies, according to visiting Philippine Senator Raul S. Roco.

Mr. Roco said luring Filipino and other Asian businessmen into investing on the digital technology on the island may prove to be a great task for the CNMI government due to the very limited economic base of the Northern Marianas.

However, the senator stressed CNMI may choose to explore its access to investors from the mainland United States and other North American countries into setting up IT businesses here for the huge Asian market.

“Since the CNMI has a low economic base, considering that there are only about 70,000 people here, Filipino businessmen are more likely to go to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia or Indonesia where the market is bigger,” he pointed out.

“Relative to the efforts of the Filipino businessmen, there is much more potentials in the mainland Asia although the quality of life is here is better than other countries in the region mainly because of the small population base,” he added.

Mr. Roco also mentioned the Commonwealth’s access to importing skilled labor force from the Philippines when the local government’s efforts to expand the CNMI economy through the introduction of a software and hardware production industry here kick off.

“In terms of human resources, I think the CNMI has access to dependable human resources from the Philippines, which is the country’s biggest capital. The country can help foster Saipan’s economic growth through its skilled labor force,” he explained.

The visiting senator also said the Northern Marianas is now beginning to recognize the value of optimizing its limited resources like land area in order to be on the same playing field with other bigger countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.

He said the CNMI can enjoy the unlimited knowledge of Filipino workers in information technology when efforts to institute a software production industry here finally push through.

Since information technology in the CNMI is still in its infancy, computer educational institutions in the Philippines like the AMA Computer College and the STI Colleges have a good chance to be market leaders should they decide to come in here.

The CNMI Department of Commerce previously identified two major business activities — finance sectors and digital technology — that show bright potentials at facilitating the Commonwealth’s redemption from deep economic contraction.

Economic advisors from the commerce department noted promising signs of continued growth in the local finance sector and the auspicious prospects for new ventures in the digital technology.

Actions are now being undertaken by the House of Representatives to keep the Northern Marianas abreast with the latest electronic innovation in enhancing electronic commerce.

Northern Marianas consumers currently account for big volume of imported items purchased from the mainland U.S. through transactions in the Internet despite the absence of local laws that protect them from e-commerce shams.