The Manila Times

Reforms needed to boost investments in Davao

BY EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ

THERE is a need for economic and policy reforms for the Davao Region to become an attractive destination for both domestic and foreign investments, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) President Maria Lourdes Monteverde said.

“It takes more than an X factor for foreign investors to come over and make Davao as a destination or even the whole of the Philippines. We have to have policy changes [and] reforms in place to make us more attractive in terms of investments [and] to make us more competitive on the global stage,” she said.

Monteverde lamented how other Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar overtook the Philippines in terms of economic progress despite their respective political upheavals. This calls for policy reforms toward achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Philippines, she said.

The DCCCII 6th General Membership Meeting was attended by several international business leaders to share their investment prospects for the Davao Region as well as for the whole of the Philippines. These include consulgenerals of China, India and Japan, who all expressed plans to strengthen bilateral cooperation with the Philippines and expand their investments on major industries in the region.

During the forum, Chinese Consul-General Li Lin emphasized long-standing China-Philippine ties and cited the robust trade and investment between the two countries. “In the past six years, bilateral trade volume doubled as China’s direct investment grew four times, while the amount of contracted projects increased by three times despite the impact of the pandemic,” Lin said.

Some of the major plans China was looking at, according to Lin, include importing more tropical fruits and other agricultural products such as young coconut and tuna from the Philippines. He said they are also keen on elevating China’s presence in the Philippine agriculture and food processing sector as well as on other innovation-oriented industries.

“Big promotion of Mindanao and Davao to my countrymen is one of our priorities in my office. It’s letting people know that the Davao Region is safe and full of business opportunities,” Lin said.

Yoshihisa Ishikawa, consulgeneral of Japan in Davao City, emphasized the “vibrant and strong” economic relationship between Japan and the Philippines that also include security cooperation, capacity building and people-to-people exchange, among others. “Our economic investment continues to advance. Japan’s commitment to the Philippines is wide-ranging.”

From 2016-2019 prior to the pandemic, the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) from Japan reached P898.18 billion, an 11-percent share to the total FDI recorded during the period. In 2021, investment from Japan to Southeast Asean countries reached $23 billion, with the Philippines getting a small share of 2.8 percent or $649 million (P35.1 billion). “I think this number is very small and what I want to work on is bigger Japanese investments in the Philippines. I really want to work on that,” Ishikawa said.

To date, about 40 Japanese companies are operating in Mindanao, 30 of which are located in Davao Region.

Ishikawa also cited that Japanese tourist arrival to the Philippines steadily improved from 2016 to 2019, increasing by 8.1 percent to 682,788 in 2019, from just 535,238 in 2016.

“For the Japanese, traveling to Mindanao is not safe and that it will bring danger to us. That’s the kind of image understood by our people. And I want to change that during my term,” he said.

First Secretary Embassy of India in the Philippines Nishikant Singh vowed to exert efforts to facilitate and accelerate investments from Indian pharmaceutical companies to make medicines more accessible and affordable in the Philippines.

“We should think of having a manufacturing facility in the Philippines. We have to do that and we have a discussion on that. We’re encouraging Indian companies to take consideration of that,” Singh said.

He said his government is also aiming to increase the presence of Indian companies in Philippine agriculture and committed to bring more Indian firms to the upcoming Davao Agri-Trade Expo. “We would be encouraging all the Indian companies who are already present in the Philippines, as well as those companies who are still not, to take a look in this region and participate in this activity and expo,” he said.

Business Times

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2022-06-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/282011856049474

The Manila Times