OPEN FOR INVESTORS. Engr. Maria Victoria Placer, acting chief of the Department of Trade and Industry in Davao del Sur, declares Tuesday (June 28, 2022) that the province is ready to accept local or foreign investors. She says the province has become more conducive to businesses with the gradual easing of coronavirus disease 2019 restrictions. (PNA photo by Che Palicte)
DIGOS CITY – Davao del Sur's gradual easing of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) restrictions signaled the province has opened its doors for both local and foreign investments, an official of the provincial Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Tuesday.
Engr. Maria Victoria Placer, acting DTI-Davao del Sur chief, said the province has showed signs of recovery with its intensified promotion
targeting potential investors.
“As we navigate a fast-changing world that forecasts an unstable future for many businesses, we in Davao del Sur are taking a more aggressive stance to invite investors and business partners to work with us,” Placer said during the launching of the first Davao del Sur Investment Conference Tuesday.
Placer said Davao del Sur remains a conducive place to do business with greenfield investments and expansion taking place despite the setbacks brought about by the pandemic and natural disasters.
Organized by the DTI and the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office, the conference seeks to reinforce the position of the province as an investment destination in the Davao Region in the field of agro-processing, manufacturing, energy, and tourism.
“As you explore trade and investment opportunities and pursue expansion strategies, we invite you to come and invest in Davao del Sur, and we will make it happen for you,” Placer said.
Meanwhile, incoming Governor Yvonne Cagas said there is a need to upgrade the business climate in the province by streamlining the business registration processes, lowering costs of doing business, addressing government inefficiency and corruption, and improving infrastructure, among others.
“We will continue to streamline the business permit and licensing system and further improve it to become online and offer a digital payment system,” Cagas said.
Also, the governor cited the need to establish a more efficient business one-stop-shop, regular review of the permitting and licensing systems for building construction and occupancy, tourism, and fire safety and sanitary inspection.
Cagas challenged the local government units and their respective local economic investment promotions officers to come up with an online local economic database, a reliable platform accessible for domestic and foreign investors for information on a certain area. (PNA)
