A robust influx of investments in the city was noted last year, marking a growth of 47.6 percent in terms of the amount of investments from new businesses.
Davao City Investment and Promotion Center (DCIPC) chief Jason Magnaye reported that Davao City gained total investments of P3.68 billion from the new businesses in 2011 compared to the P2.5 billion investments in 2010.
Magnaye said the total investments reached P187 billion, earning a growth of 2.6% for the city last year. In 2010, Davao City gained P183 billion, he added.
Though the DCIPC chief noted a decline in business permit renewals last year, substantial business ventures poured in, saying that these “largely came from property development projects or real estate investments.”
Aside from real estate investments, Magnaye said business process outsourcing (BPO) “continue to be upbeat.”
He said the growth of BPOs has provided employment to about 16,000 people in the city.
He mentioned that two more BPO firms visited the city in December last year to look for possible sites for their business.
The tourism industry also performed well last year, and is expected to be more aggressive in 2012, Magnaye told local media.
He cited the number of tourist arrivals at 700,000 in 2011 with some 375,000 being recorded as of middle last year. Based on hotel arrivals, about 10% of the tourists were foreigners while 90% were domestic visitors.
Magnaye said the city government is eyeing to bid for two big ASEAN conventions this year, expecting to gather visitors from all over the Asia Pacific region.
Related to this, he also shared growing over the soon to be opened, and biggest, convention center in a major mall in Davao City.
Meanwhile, Davao City Business Bureau chief Tristan Dwight Domingo reported that his office processed a total of 31,747 active business permits last year.
Domingo announced that a one-stop shop off-site business permit processing will be held soon at a big mall in Matina, Davao City. [PIA 11/CARINA L. CAYON]
