DAVAO CITY, Davao, Philippines.
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| Photo courtesy of Davaochamber.com |
Davao Oriental
→ Primed as a potential investment destination in Mindanao, It successfully pulled off its intensified campaign aimed at enticing more investors to venture business in the sundry of investment leads the province offers during the recently held second Davao Investment Conference here at the newly opened SMX Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City.
Dubbed with the theme: “Invest in Davao: Life is here”, the said event was stormed by key investors from all over the country citing new business potentials focusing on four priority areas of investment that include: connectivity, tourism, property and real-estate development and information, communications and technology (ICT).
Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon, who was a guest speaker on the said occasion, highlighted the investment opportunities Davao Oriental has to offer influenced by the province’s strategic position as Davao Region’s gateway to the Pacific and being recognized as part of the SUDOPARIM growth corridor, which stands for Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Davao Oriental Pacific Rim Growth Corridor.
Governor Malanyaon said that the SUDOPARIM development strategy aims at accelerating the economic growth and development of localities traversing Caraga and Davao regions along the Pacific Ocean.
“Also, it intended to transform the corridor by accessing funds and other support from the national government to enable these provinces to build on its comparative advantages,” Governor Malanyaon said. She expressed her hopes that this strategy would as well encourage beneficial relationships and cooperation among these three provinces and would be an excellent opportunity for these provinces to grow together in one direction.
Meanwhile, tagged as the region’s gateway to the pacific, the provincial government of Davao Oriental is determined to push its drive of promoting Davao Oriental by means of making thorough preparations as it embarks on its ambitious aim of taking Davao Oriental to the world and lead foreign investments to come in.
In agricultural potentials alone, Davao Oriental earned the reputation of being the premiere coconut producer in the country owing to its suitable soil and climate and with an average production volume of more than 2 million metric tons. Other promising crops which the province is currently a large producer of are abaca, rice, corn, banana, mango, cacao, and coffee.
Just recently, an initial agreement for a market tie-up with international cacao buyers has been established considering the province’s extensive cacao-coconut intercropping program.
Possessing the region’s longest coastline and being located along the ‘Tuna Highway’, Governor Malanyaon also welcomed investments in fishing facilities such as ports, cold storage facilities, among others in order to fully make the most of the opportunity of having one of the biggest aquaculture areas in the Davao region.
Meanwhile, the province is keen in positioning Davao Oriental as a world-class tourism destination. Boasting of many tourist attractions and heritage sites, including the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, which became a nominee for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the provincial government maps out strategies and intensifies the ground works on tourism planning as it prepares for the influx of foreign and local tourists.
As an emerging investment and tourist destination, Governor Malanyaon is optimistic that the provincial government’s initiative programs and projects in different areas will soon gain rewards through a boost in the local economy that would eventually lead to more developments.
Meanwhile, driven by one vision—that is to promote Davao City and the Davao Region, if not the whole Mindanao as a viable investment destination, Sebastian L. Angliongto, Conference Director and also the Chairman of the Board of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) conveyed his positivity that Davao iCon will once again prompt the realization of more infrastructure projects and forge strong partnerships in the business community as it successfully did last year.
The Davao Investment Conference is an annual business event organized and established by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.
By: Karen Lou Deloso
source: DavaoOriental.com.ph
