The Board of Investments called on investors to consider Davao Region as a competitive and attractive location for business projects following a big drop in investments to P4.61 billion in 2020, or nearly half from P8.27 billion in 2019.
Board of Investments executive director Bobby Fondevilla said during the Davao Investment Conference the government aims to further connect Davao Region to other parts of the world and showcase it as a “suitable place for global investors.”
Fondevilla presented the menu of incentives offered by the government under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and how investments may qualify for the Strategic Investments Priorities Plan.
He underscored Davao’s journey following an economic setback during the pandemic, as the region recorded a decline in approved investments in 2020 from the previous year.
Real estate activities brought in the largest amount of investments in the region worth P3.19 billion in 2019, followed by electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply with P2.19 billion. Manufacturing investments were at P2.02 billion, while other investments came from waste management and remediation activities at P586.5 million; transportation and storage, P201.6 million; agriculture, forestry, and fishing, P57.3 million; and, water supply, sewerage, administrative and support service activities, P13.8 million.
Real estate continued to be the preferred investment in Davao in 2020 with investments of P2.17 billion. Investments in accommodation and food service ranked second with P1.8 billion while agriculture, forestry, and fishing contributed P636.6 million. Other projects were the P139.87 million human health and social work projects and the P15 million investment into administrative and support service.
Among the investors in Davao in 2020 were the 8990 Housing Development Corp., a developer of a P2.17-billion economic and low-cost housing project in Davao City; CHMI Hotels & Residences Inc., a new operator of tourist accommodation facility in Davao City, valued at P1.8 billion; and Universal Power Solutions Inc., a new operator of Battery Energy Storage Solutions in Malita, Davao Occidental with investments of P1.1 billion.
Other projects were those of Millenium Specialty Coco Products Inc., a new export producer of coconut products in Panabo City; Anflo Banana Corp., an export producer of fresh Cavendish banana in Davao Oriental; and Tagum Water Company Inc., a new operator of bulk water supply in Tagum City.
The Davao Region promotes 10 priority sectors to prospective investors. These are agri-business; tourism and recreational facilities; light manufacturing and assembly; real estate/property development; health and wellness, educational and sports facilities; environment protection; information and communications technology; generation of new sources of energy; transportation and infrastructure; and public-private partnership projects.