The City Government of Davao has expressed optimism that the state visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the launching of the ASEAN 2017 Chairmanship will be followed by an influx of investors.
City Investment and Promotions Center Chief Lemuel Ortonio on Monday said the city has successfully gained the interest of the foreign investors after the big events.
Ortonio said that on his level alone, he had already met with several foreign business persons that would be investing in Davao City to help “improve the economy and to ease business activities.”
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte said in a closed-door meeting with reporters on Tuesday that several Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, French, and Chinese investors expressed their interests in investing particularly in agriculture and infrastructure.
“May iba na lumapit din na gusting maginvest sa infrastructure sa buong Mindanao – which is beyond my control – so tinurn over ko sa Malacañang Office (There were some investors who showed their interest in investing in the infrastructure for the whole Mindanao – which is beyond my control – so I turned them over to the Malacañang Office),” he said.
When asked regarding how ready the city is in accommodating the influx of foreign investors, Vice Mayor Duterte said Davao City is ready, but the investors are having difficulty in having a “good” location within the Poblacion area.
“The local investors and businessmen have already bought several lots in the city alone,” he said, adding that some investors from outside Davao City want to build hotels within the downtown area.
Vice Mayor Duterte said that the government has to handle the investors one step at a time.
“Hindi rin tayong pwede maka-commit sa lahat kasi dapat alamin muna kung anong suitable para sa Davao City,” he explained.
Vice Mayor Duterte said that foreign investors had seen the potentials of Mindanao – particularly in Davao City, hence the sudden influx of foreign investors.
He added that he was also “hopeful” of the city’s future regarding the economic environment.
