Trade diversification

ADDING A BIT OF VALUE – At present we have seen a lot of interest from Taiwan in Davao City’s economic activities. The Taiwanese are more interested than other foreign entrepreneurs in business diversification. Taiwanese investors are now looking locally after their success in the global market. Diversification and hands-on management have been very important to Taiwanese merchants.
They have been enthusiastically participating in trade and investment in the country most particularly in the city for quite some time. Their business undertakings specifically dealing in retail trade is very strongly signified in the city and they intend to continue doing that. Well, I’m not an investment or financial analysts but I firmly believe Davao City is a place where Taiwanese capitalists find with an entrepreneurial spirit. The local economy may be facing some sort of a slowdown due to other concerns, but that’s only temporary.
The long-term economic outlook for the city is superb. I think the logic of our common interests suggest that the city government should offer tax incentives and somewhat relaxed business regulations to lure other foreign investors aside from the Taiwanese in establishing business in the locality. Every now and then we are looking around and searching to see if we do come up with anything interesting. Hence there is some degree of confidence in the city’s business trend enabling the Taiwanese traders to get on with running their retail business smoothly, and of course, profitably.
But it was exactly the astonishing opportunities and the business disciplining effect that made the Taiwanese financiers so much more efficient and competitive locally. As elsewhere in the country, this kind of traders proved to have the steadiness of nerve and vision to take advantage of any opportunity that crosses their paths. One of the most encouraging things that came about as a result of the “Taiwanese invasion” was that Ramon Magsaysay Avenue and its nearby commercial areas and touted as the city’s Chinatown are now the business hubs to these intrepid people.
Davao City is much more important to the dauntless Taiwanese businessmen. The city has got a sizable consumer base compared to other bustling metropolis outside Greater Manila and Metro Cebu. From the point of view of an investor looking for a strategic business location and safe harbor, it certainly bolstered the notion that doing business in the city will succeed in such an environment. The time therefore is right for a lot of growth in the retail business. With the Taiwanese showing themselves to be very responsive, the retail trade has great prospects in the city if they will offer good quality products at very reasonable costs.
Filipino entrepreneurs should make the Taiwanese businessmen as good example. Their country’s electronic companies became global players in terms of component supply. They have about 30% to 40% of the global market and had a long history of being an electronics exporter. But if you will look at the composition carefully, a lot of products – ranging from appliances, electronic gadgets, computer software, smartphones, accessories, garments, sports gear, cosmetics, kitchenware, hardware to food products or think of anything else, name it and they have it.
Right now, Dabawenyos accept that the Taiwanese investors are now part of the city economically and in other ways too. Local consumers can’t panic in the face of the first person who criticizes products made in Taiwan. They buy because they want them and consumers think the price is economical. However, the debate for all of us, particularly the city government, is how we can make sure the business activities undertaken by Taiwanese entrepreneurs are actually adding a bit of value to the people’s lives.