Biz buzz: Logistical nightmare

They tried to trim down the number of businessmen who would join President Duterte’s trip to China this week, but in the end, the government, overwhelmed by the number of requests to be included in the official party, just threw its hands up and decided to let everybody who wanted to go, go. But to each his own, Biz Buzz has learned.

While the tycoons will have no problem having “quality time” with the President in China, a few hundreds will simply have to be content with being in the same hotel ballroom as the Chief Executive during a Philippine-China business forum.

The demand is such that one of the biggest business organizations, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had initially planned to forego struggling with airlines to book tickets for every member of the delegation. Instead, PCCI wanted to just charter a wide-bodied aircraft for the nearly five-hour flight to Beijing and back.

That plan may not be feasible, Biz Buzz learned, because aircraft traffic into Beijing Capital International Airport is so congested and there are very limited landing slots available. So as a back up plan, the business organization has been working with the Department of Trade and Industry and a travel agency to get everyone a seat whichever airline can accommodate them. The lucky agency charged with this task, we were told, is Binondo-based Uni-Orient Travel. (We’re not even talking about finding 400 hotel rooms yet.)

Of course, the real heavy hitters,the captains of industry ,wouldn’t be caught dead flying in a chartered airliner, much less on a scheduled commercial flight.

No sir, the likes of International Container Terminal Services Inc. chair Enrique Razon Jr. and San Miguel Corp. president Ramon Ang will be flying to Beijing in the luxury of their own private aircraft. Both gentlemen have their own high-speed Gulfstream G550 executive jets which means they can leave Manila later than the main business delegation, and probably get to the Chinese capital ahead of the main group.

(In the case of Mr. Ang, he will be in China a day late because he will first have to break ground tomorrow, Oct. 18, for a new $300-million Eagle Cement plant in, where else? Davao City.)

In any case, the final headcount for businessmen flying to China this week is way over 400, we were told. And several of the biggest groups have been going the extra mile to sign some kind of deal with Chinese counterparts to show their support for Mr. Duterte’s pivot to the Asian superpower.

But the proof of the pudding is the eating, so it remains to be seen whether these nonbinding memoranda of understanding will translate to real dollars, pesos and yuan when they return to the Philippines. Abangan. Daxim L. Lucas