DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 Jan) – Investment inflows for Davao Region reached P3.46 billion as of third quarter of 2019, comprising 50.14% of the government’s target of P6.9 billion for the year.
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)-Davao director Maria Lourdes Lim said that the region started huge in the first quarter of 2019 with an investment of P2.6 billion, but a dismal P700 million in the second and third quarters.
Davao Region’s approved investments for the first three quarters of 2018 totaled P14.3 billion, placing the region at fifth with biggest investments approved for the same period, according to the Board of Investments (BOI).
Lim said BOI-Davao has yet to release its full-year report for 2019 by end of January 2020.
Despite attaining only halfway of the target as of third quarter 2019, Lim said NEDA-Davao remained optimistic “that the full year 2019 investments shall be able to meet, if not exceed, its targets for the year.”
Of the investments approved for the first three months of last year, Lim said Davao del Norte cornered about 69% or P2.38 billion and Davao City at 31% or P1.08 billion.
Lim said that the biggest investments were by a new export producer of coconut products in Sitio Pantukan, Barangay JP Laurel, Panabo City, Davao del Norte, amounting to P994 million; new bulk water supply project in Barangay Magdum, Tagum City, P586 million; and a new developer of an economic and low-cost housing project in Barangay Communal, Buhangin, Davao City, P416 million.
The government has remained optimistic that the economic output of the Davao Region will grow between 9.5% and 10.5% for 2019 despite a series of major earthquakes last year that affected the property development sector, according to Lim.
She said that the macroeconomic fundamentals of the region—which comprise five provinces, six cities and 43 municipalities—had remained stable at the end of 2019.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will release a report on Davao’s economic performance by March this year, she said.
“We have yet to see the impact [of the earthquakes] for the quarter updates but I’m still optimistic this will not really make a big dent in terms of our GRDP (gross regional domestic product),” Lim said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)