Hydro Investments in Davao Region Grow

Investments in Davao Region reached P7.684 billion as of third quarter of 2016, records from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11 showed.

The third quarter investments in 2016 already surpassed by 38.7 percent the entire 2015 record of P4.708 billion.

DTI 11 reported that of these investments, Davao City bagged 33 percent, Davao del Sur 29 percent, Davao del Norte 27 percent, Compostella Valley 7 percent, Davao Oriental 4 percent.

Davao Occidental, a province carved out from Davao del Sur, had no investments yet.

Most investments came from manufacturing (38 percent), transportation and storage (31 percent, and real estate (13 percent). Accommodation/food services and power got 7 percent each, while agriculture netted 4 percent.

The top five highest investors for the period were San Miguel Foods Inc. that poured in P2.244 billion worth of manufacturing plant in Davao del Sur; international port-operator Anflocor’s with its P1.885-billion Davao International Container Terminal Inc. in Davao del Norte; Damosa Land Inc., Anflocor’s real estate arm, with P596.59 million; FTC Group of Companies’ P540.97 million in Davao City; and Euro Hydro Power (Asia) Holdings Inc. with P517.77 million worth of hydropower plant in Compostela Valley province.

PNX Chelsea Shipping Corp. came as 6th top investor with P507 million, followed by AVLB Asia Pacific Conglomerate Inc. with P500 million, Grupo San Pedro Realty Corp. with P372.10 million, Anflo Banana Corp. with P342 million, and CocohausCorp. with P177.50 billion.

The DTI 11 will release the complete data for 2016 within the month.

Lemuel Ortonio, City Investment Promotions Center officer-in-charge of Davao City said that the city attracted more investors after former mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte won the presidency in the May 2016 polls.

“PRRD (President Rodrigo R. Duterte) has created a buzz on Davao City and became the perfect marketing ambassador for the city’s investment and tourism potential. With the increased awareness comes increased in Davao City for foreign investors to pour in new potential developments,” he said.

He added that most of the inquiries came from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

“The city government must not simply rely on receiving investment inquiries that are pouring in. It needs to be more proactive and take advantage of the spotlight the city has been receiving,” he said.