The Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) is set to submit the proposed amendments of the Davao City Investment Incentive Code to the City Council by end of March to attract more businesses and economic investors to the city.
Davao City offers incentives to new, expanding, or diversifying enterprises from single proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, or cooperatives with a minimum capital of P3 million and can be classified under any of the Preferred Investment Areas (PIAs), indicated in the Davao City Investment Incentive Code.
Christian Cambaya, head of the Investor Assistance Unit of DCIPC, bared on Friday that the proposed amendments to the Davao City Investment Incentive Code were already finalized and approved by the Davao City Incentive Board last month.
Cambaya said among the proposed amendments for more attractive incentives for the existing and prospective investors include: an adjustment of business tax payment from three years to five years and an adjustment of property tax payment from two years to three years.
“Hopefully by the end of the month, we can submit this to the City Council for the approval of the ordinance. Hopefully, before the change of the administration, we can implement this already, meaning investors can now enjoy our incentives in the City of Davao,” Cambaya said during the Business Matters media forum at Hukad, Ayala Malls Abreeza.
Cambaya also said that DCIPC added a few sub-activities under the PIA in partnership with the Punongbayan and Araullo (P&A).
The DCIPC and P&A signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) last year for a project to revise the city’s Investment Code.
“The first is the proposed amendments to the Davao City Investment Incentive Code and the second is coming up with a Doing Business in Davao brochure, which is a comprehensive guide for all investors looking at Davao City and it includes what to expect, incentives, and the cost of doing business. These are the two things that we engaged sa Punongbayan and Araullo last year,” Cambaya said.
Cambaya bared that as of March this year, DCIPC has already welcomed two investors – the Aerwall Philippines, Inc., a manufacturer of expanded polystyrene system wall panels with a project cost of P211 million and the Nakashin Davao International, Inc. in Malagamot Panacan, a Japanese company that manufacture and processed fruits like mangos and bananas to be exported in Japan.
Cambaya added that Nakashin Davao International, Inc. will install solar panels in their plant to save electricity and plans to expand its production with a projected cost of P26 miilion using the fund that it will be saving from using renewable energy.
Cambaya reported that for 2024 DCIPC has approved four projects: Viking Cold Storage, Inc., a new project in Tibungco with a project cost of P700 million; Monde Nissin Corp. manufacturer of Lucky Me noodles with its expansion involved manufacturing of mamon cake and biscuits with a project cost of P2.3 billion; VA for Professionals, a BPO company; and Golden Senoritas, Inc., a manufacturer of banana chips with a project cost of P365 million.
In 2022, Davao City generated one of its biggest investments with the establishment of Gatungan Steel Corp., a steel mill plant situated in Mahayag, Bunawan, with a project cost of P24 billion.
