DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 8 Oct) – The three-day Davao tourism, trade and investment mission to Singapore on October 10 is eyeing for overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as new investors.
Jason Magnaye, city investment promotion and tourism officer, said at the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City that the OFWs are potential investors in the city.
Initially set in July, the selling mission with 28 delegates is led by the local government, members of national agencies and industry sectors in this city and will banner four priority sectors, particularly of tourism, agri-business, information and communication technology (ICT) and real estate.
The ICT sector will look for potential investors, especially overseas Filipino workers, to invest in business process outsourcing, ICT Davao vice president Samuel Matunog said.
He added that the ICT sector aims to increase the small and medium enterprises in the city through BPO investments and that the mission in Singapore may help in achieving this objective.
Magnaye said the tourism sector primarily chose Singapore for the mission to increase tourism activities and air traffic between the city and Singapore through Cebu Pacific’s Manila and Cebu hubs.
He added that the other industry sectors joining the mission also have long planned to visit Singapore.
The tourism and investment sectors in Davao region consider Singapore as a major international commercial hub in Asia.
Magnaye said the team will establish market contacts and linkages with industry leaders in Singapore to promote and market Davao as one of the preferred tourism and investment destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.
Davao delegates will engage in round-table meetings with the OFWs, as well as the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Singapore-Malay Chamber of Commerce and IT leaders.
In one of the new malls of Singapore, the Alexandra Retail Center, the mission team will highlight opportunities in tourism, ICT and property development, Magnaye said.
He added that there will be a business-to-business meeting in cooperation with travel and tourism industry players based in Singapore, and a meeting with officials of the Philippine Embassy in Singapore who organized the business meetings of other industries.
The selling mission is in partnership with the departments of tourism and trade and industry, Philippine Retirement Authority, Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., ICT Davao, and the agri-business and property development sectors in the Davao region. (Lorie Ann A. Cascaro / MindaNews)
