Davao City opens doors to Japanese investors

DAVAO CITY – Davao City Investment and Promotions Center (DCIPIC) head Lemuel Ortonio says his agency is welcoming Japanese businessmen who may want to invest in the country.

In an interview Friday, Ortonio said he hoped the Japanese will look to the city as “a good option for their investments,” judging from their four-day investment and tourism roadshow last month in Japan.

He said they noted that the Japanese were quite unfamiliar with the city because previous business missions conducted by the national government only highlighted Luzon and Visayas, and places like Manila, Cebu, Boracay and Palawan.

A 20-man delegation from the city composed of local government officials and private sector representatives set out on a four-day Davao City Investment and Tourism Roadshow from October 16 to 20 in Osaka, Kyoto, Yokohama and Tokyo to introduce the city as another investment and tourism destination for the Japanese.

“When they hear about the Philippines, they can only think of Manila, Cebu Palawan and Boracay. There were instances before that they heard about Davao but never could they relate it with Philippines. Every time the national government held a roadshow, it’s usually the four cities that were highlighted,” he said.

Ortonio said he hoped they were able to generate interests from the Japanese investors there to take a look at the available opportunities being offered by the city to foreign investors.

The business mission was held to introduce the city to the Japanese market and build linkage with tourism associations, he said.

The investment official said the business mission included holding a meeting with different representatives of local chambers of commerce and tourism associations, and held a Tokyo-Davao City Business Forum that was organized by the Philippine Embassy in Japan.

He said the tour associations signified the intention to create Davao tour packages for the Japanese.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte announced, upon his arrival from his two-day working visit in Japan Tuesday evening, that he brought home business deals worth P309 billion with Japanese investors and a pledge of assistance from Japanese government worth P456 billion.

But Ortonio said he hopes the city would receive its fair share of the assistance and investments from the Japanese.