Antara News, Wednesday, March 24, 2010 19:56 WIB
Jayapura (ANTARA News) - A yacht flying the Panamanian flag with 300 European tourists on board is scheduled to dock at Jayapura`s Yos Sudarso seaport on Thursday (Mar 25).
This was disclosed by the Jayapura immigration chief Roberth Silitonga here Wednesday.
The luxury boat will call at Jayapura for one day after visiting Papua New Guinea (PNG).
"Many of the passengers planned to enjoy the various tourist objects in Jayapura," the said.
Antara News, Monday, March 15, 2010 14:53 WIB
Ambon (ANTARA News) - Sail Banda 2010 is expected to be the "Entry Point" for Maluku province to build win-win cooperation with neighboring countries.
Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu said here on Monday that the upcoming international marine event would be the entry point for the province to knit a win-win cooperation with neighbor countries such as Australia, Timor Leste, and Papua New Guinea (PNG).
"I have just returned from Australia and Papua New Guinea to accompany President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in his state visit to the two countries," Governor Ralahalu said.
The governor said that during the visit, Sail Banda event got positive support from the Australian and Papua New Guinean leaders when President Yudhoyono explained it to them in a dialog.
Ralahalu said Sail Banda 2010, scheduled for July to August this year, would be an event to improve the welfare of local people and to create peaceful and free-conflict zones in the province in the future.
Various kinds of international activities will coincide with Sail Banda event which is to be attended by hundreds, even thousands of experts and scientists from many countries.
Governor Ralahalu admitted that in his visit to Australia to accompany President Yudhoyono, he did not have time to explain Sail Banda directly to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, but in a diplomatic talks between Yudhoyono and Rudd, it was mentioned and would be discussed further.
"I did not have time to discuss Sail Banda with the Australian prime minister but I did with Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, and the PNG leader promised to visit Maluku next August. I also reported it to President Yudhoyono and the president has as well officially invited Somare to visit Maluku during the Sail Banda event," Ralahalu said.
He said the PNG prime minister was glad to meet with the governors from eastern Indonesia and promised to visit Maluku and other provinces in eastern Indonesia later.
Ralahalu said various international agenda would be discussed in conjunction with Sail Band 2010.
Therefore, the governor called on all public elements in Maluku to fully support the success of Sail Banda 2010.
"We have to be a good host for such an international marine event and to make it a success, because it will have a positive impact on the glory of Maluku in the international eyes," Governor Ralahalau said.
Antara News, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 16:08 WIB
Ambon (ANTARA News) - Maluku Governor Karel Albert Ralahalu has been asked to accompany President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the latter`s visit to Australia on March 13, 2010.
"It will be an honor for Maluku and also an opportunity for Governor Ralahalu to promote Maluku`s potentials in the neighboring country," Maluku provincial administration public relations chief Semmy Huwae said here on Wednesday.
Huwae said Ralahalu would during the visit also extend an official invitation to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to attend the international marine event of Sail Banda 2010 in Ambon.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is due to attend the peak event of the international marine activity on August 3, 2010 would at the same time declare Maluku as a national fishery hub.
With vast areas of coral reefs, Maluku is rich in fish and other sea biota, including decorative fish species, and if managed optimally and effectively, its marine resources could bring high economic returns.
Fish species found in Maluku waters include the Black spotted Puffer, Trumpet fish, Anemones, Juvenile Damselfish, Porcupine fish, Ornate Ghost Pipefish, Scorpion Fish, Lizard fish, Moray Eels, Seahorses and Banded Sea Snakes.
President Yudhoyono and his entourage will visit Australia on March 13, 2010, and on the next day March 14, 2010, the head of state will continue to Papua New Guinea where Governor Ralahalu would also hand an official invitation to the PNG prime minister to attend Sail Banda.
"But the visits to Malaysia, Timor Leste, and other countries will be scheduled by the presidential secretariat after the visit to Australia and Papua New Guinea," Semmy Huwae said.
He said the president and central government strongly supported the success of Sail Banda 2010, and therefore Governor Ralahalu and his deputy also called on all parties to support the success of the international marine event in Maluku later.
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Malaysia Business Insight, by Irma Isip
The RD Group, the country’s biggest tuna exporter, is spending $45 million to expand its local and overseas facilities to meet growing demand for its products, company chairman Rodrigo Rivera Sr. said.
Rivera said RD is spending $30 million to add a new line to its plant in Papua New Guinea.
Rivera said RD is also expanding its second cannery in General Santos from 140 to 200 tons a day at a cost of $15 million.
Its facility in Papua New Guinea has a capacity of 200 tons per day in raw materials while the one in Indonesia, which cost $17 million to build, handles up to 80 tons per day.
About 60 to 70 percent of the output of its General Santos facility goes to the export market. Big tuna, which weigh 20 kilograms and above, are exported to Japan and Europe while those below 10 kg are processed.
Buyers usually put their brands on their tuna.
RD prefers exporting in semi-processed form for canning in other countries like Europe. This eliminates the need for packaging and labeling.
The company’s expansion will to 11,000 the number of its workers, as fishing and canning are both labor-intensive. Of this number, 7,000 are in General Santos City.
Ninety percent of its workers are women.
RD will start the expansion beginning the first quarter of 2010.
Rivera said RD is also expanding one cannery in General Santos from 140 to 240 tons per day. This will 1,200 additional jobs.
The company exports 14 containers of fish, both finished products and fishmeal, daily. One container is valued at $14,000.
There are six canneries in General Santos, and RD is the biggest, accounting for 25 to 30 percent of the market.
RD exports almost 100 percent of its output with the United States, Europe and the Middle East as its main markets.
RD started as a pawnshop in 1976 in General Santos and became diversified by 1999.
It registered its deep-sea fishing project with the Board of Investments in 1992. Ten agri-based projects have been registered with the agency.
Today the company has 40 subsidiaries and major divisions engaged in fishing, agribusiness, manufacturing, processing, banking, pawning, insurance, real estate development, hotels and retailing of hardware and fishing supplies.
It is composed of four fishing companies: RD Fishing Industry Inc., RD Tuna Ventures Inc., South Sea Fishing Ventures Philippines Inc. and Asia Pacific Allied Fishing Ventures Corp.
RD is the largest fishing entity in the SOCSKSARGEN region of Mindanao, the country’s undisputed tuna capital. The RD Fishing’s fleet consists of 102 vessels.
The fishholding capacity of the fleet’s super seiners ranges from 450 to 1,200 metric tons; while the reef carriers have a maximum capacity of 2,400 metric tons.
The RD Manufacturing Group is spearheaded by Philbest Canning Corp., a tuna processing plant located in Barangay Tambler, General Santos City. The cannery produces two varieties of canned tuna products – 307 for retail and 603 for food service products. With a manufacturing capacity of 150 metric tons per day, the plant employs more than 1,500 residents in the area.
BusinessWorld, Philippines,
SAN JUAN, BATANGAS — The Philippines and Papua New Guinea will negotiate a bilateral agreement aimed at fostering fishery cooperation, said Malacañang yesterday.
Press Secretary Cerge M. Remonde said President Gloria M. Arroyo will discuss the agreement during Prime Minister Michael Somare’s four-day stay in the country starting this Saturday.
"The Philippines and Papua New Guinea are members of the so-called Coral Triangle Initiative countries. A joint venture of fisheries will be discussed during the state visit," he said.
Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, and the Solomon Islands are also part of a multilateral alliance to preserve the Coral Triangle environment. All in all, the area spans 6.5 million square kilometers and is home to over 600 reef-building corals and various fish species.
As the most diverse marine region on the planet, the Coral Triangle sustains the lives of nearly 130 million people and contains major spawning and nursery grounds for tuna.
Mr. Somare, who’s arriving in Manila on Saturday, will join Ms. Arroyo in General Santos on Monday to meet with key stakeholders in the tuna industry in the province.
The six nations of the initiative — Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands — account for around 70% of the world’s tuna catch, including threatened species like big eye and yellowfin tuna.
"Protection and responsible management of these spawning grounds and migratory routes is an essential ecosystem service to the world’s multi-billion dollar tuna industry," WWF Coral Triangle Program head Lida Pet Soede was earlier quoted as saying.
"Taking advantage of this unique asset can help strengthen the position of Coral Triangle countries in their negotiations for fairer prices and fairer fishing arrangements with non-Coral Triangle nations, who also fish in these waters."
On Sunday, the visiting Papua New Guinea leader will attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Luneta Park in the morning before attending mass at San Agustin Church. Mr. Somare will also have a working lunch with business tycoon Lucio Tan after his tour of Intramuros. He will be given full arrival honors at Caticlan airport on Sunday afternoon and Ms. Arroyo will host the state dinner for him at the Shangri-La resort hotel. — B. S. Sto. Domingo
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