DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 Oct) – Fresh from holding the 17th Davao Agri Trade Expo (DATE), the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) is set to hold the 3rd Davao Investment Conference (ICon) in a bid to attract investors here on November 4 to 6at the SMX Convention Center Davao.
Speaking at the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao, Arch. Daniel T. Lim, former president of DCCCII and chairman of this year’s Davao ICon, said the three-day conference will highlight the real estate industry, this being the biggest investment drawer of the city for the past 20 years.
Davao City Investment Promotions Center (DCIPC) chief Ivan Chin Cortez said the city’s four thriving areas of investments are tourism, information communications technology (ICT), manufacturing, and real estate.
Lim added real estate cuts across other investment priority areas, the reason why it was chosen as the highlight of this year’s Davao ICon.
He added they are hoping to gather around 500 participants, although there have been around 300 who have already confirmed attendance.
“We are also expecting some foreign investors,” he said. There will be a business matching to link the local players with potential investors.
The Davao ICon is designed to attract investors to do business in the city and the neighboring areas.
Lim said that the private sector and government sector are coming up with a plan how to absorb the influx of investors.
One of the topics that will be discussed in the conference includes the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) “with a focus on available public-private partnerships (PPP) projects for the region” by Cortez.
Cortez said the CLUP must be updated every five years to set a guideline that will be responsive to the needs of the development.
The official said he is amenable to amendments pushed by the City Council.
“The CLUP should have a certain kind of flexibility,” he said.
The staging of the Davao ICon is also an opportunity to present the good things that are happening in Mindanao, Lim added.
Among the speakers include David Leechie, who will talk on “Recent Trends and Developments in Real Estate Investment Industry”; Bansa Choa, chairman and CEO of Surewell Equities, Inc., to discuss on “3R’s: Remittance, Real Estate and Retirement”; Peter Wallace, CEO of Wallace Business Forum, “Medium Term Global and Philippine Economic Outlook and Impact on the Davao Region”; Dr. Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on the “Earthquake Hazard Mapping with Insights on the Regional Risks.”
Genny I. Marcial, executive director for external affairs and membership of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), will talk about the “The Modern Business World: A 15 Year Outlook of ICT” while Rainero “Bong” Borja, president and country head of Expert Global Solutions, will present “Why a Global Company Invest in Davao: A BPO Perspective.”
