INVESTMENTS pour in as almost all sectors, from business process outsourcing to exports, are registering remarkable growth. This propels Davao City's economy to also grow.
The city recently topped the list of Top 10 Next Wave Cities 2010 because of its abundance of graduates and workers, and also the low cost of doing business in the city. Other factors that were considered in choosing the city as the "next wave city" are its infrastructure and business environment.
As the "next wave city," Davao City is considered to be the next big investment for BPO, as well the information and technology sector.
Oscar R. Sa¤ez, CEO of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), said in their selection of the next wave cities, they scored the quality of roads, access to international and domestic flights, presence of providers of fiber optic networks, reliability of power supply, availability of property sites, and cost of labor office space, among others.
The city has scored with flying colors in all these brackets.
Davao City is also being primed up to serve as the health and medical care center of the East Asean Growth Area (Eaga) as it hosts 39 schools (universities and technical colleges) offering a system of education that is at par with the best in the region.
But all these progress could not have been achieved if not of the city's all-out war against criminality.
During his three three-year terms as city mayor, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had placed peace and order on top of his priorities. For him, you can only attract investors in the city as long as there is peace.
Since then, the monthly crime rate has fallen below one percent. The city has been awarded the "Most Peaceful City in East and Southeast Asia" for seven years and is home to the "Best Police Office in the Country" for six consecutive years.
The city's vibrant economy at present is far from what it was 15 years ago.
Figures were low in almost all indicators. Although the city's economy at that time registered growth, economic planners just considered it "very minimal" that can hardly be felt by Dabawenyos.
Davao's economy almost grinded to a halt following the financial crunch that hit its neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, in 1997.
The regional financial crisis had been blamed for the withrawal of some foreign investors who were about to expand in the city or Davao Region. Development works in some investments in the city, particularly in the hotel industry, were totally stopped due to the crisis.
But these repercussions on the city's economy never dampened the spirit of the city's economic planners. The small and medium enterprises, which comprised more than 90 percent of the business operating in the city, had been intensified, giving them access to credit facilities and local government support.
At the same time, the service sector was also given priority, eventually becoming a major driver in the city's economic growth.
And with Davao Region's agriculture-based economy, farmers were given trainings on growing crops that were in-demand in both local and foreign markets. The government also assisted them in marketing their products, through the initiatives of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry.
All these efforts proved to be effective as the entry of the new millennium promised a vigorous economy both for the city and Davao Region.
Big investments started to pour in, mostly on property developments. Upscale subdivisions started to rise in the city and other areas in the region as the country's top developers were optimistic over the local economy.
SM Prime Holdings also opened its first and biggest shopping mall in the city -- the SM City Davao in 2002. Economic activities had intensified in the once barren area at Ecoland subd. in Matina.
SM City, since then, has continued to attract shoppers not only from Davao Region, but from neighboring provinces.
The following years saw the entry of big call centers in the city, particularly Concentrix and Southerland. At present, there are some 500 smaller contact centers operating in the city.
According to Lizabel "Wit" Holganza, ICT Davao, Inc. president, said four more BPO companies, which are already operating in the Philippines, are also interested to locate in Davao City.
She identified three of these BPO firms as InfoTech, Mustang Solutions and AnTech Solutions.
On real estate, construction of Davao City's newest shopping destination, the Abreeza, is now on-going and targeted to be completed in the second quarter of 2011.
Abreeza was last year's biggest investment poured in the city, with a whopping P4 billion. This posh development is expected to open in May 2011.
The Abreeza development is a project of the Accendo Commercial Corp., a joint-venture company owned by Ayala Land Inc. and the Anflo Group. It is being developed within a 10-hectare property owned by the Floirendos on JP Laurel Avenue in Bajada, Davao City.
"We are very excited about it," Anflocor president Alex Valoria said.
A mixed-use development located in the North of Davao, the economic hub of the city, Abreeza is envisioned to house the Abreeza Mall and a five-storey BPO building. Once completed and in full operations, this project is expected to provide at least 3,000 jobs for Dabawenyos.
Abreeza Mall, which is part of the Ayala Malls, will bring in more than 300 retail merchants who will occupy 53,000 sqm of leasable spaces. Surrounded by lush landscaped areas, people-oriented spaces will provide a relaxing and refreshing environment for bonding and nurturing relationships, reflective of Dabawenyos' culture and way of life.
Abreeza Mall will feature mall staples, as well as popular local and foreign brands that will be the first in Davao City. All these surely excite Dabawenyos.
In agriculture sector, more crop plantations and mariculture parks were developed, a big boost to the local economy.
In the next six months, the agriculture sector is expected to bounce back to its regular performance since the El Niño phenomenon is over, with the assumption that no typhoon will occur and regular rainfall will help the farmers recover from their production losses during the first quarter of 2010.
The real estate and property development sector have continued to flourish, considering the private companies commitment to set up mid-rise condominiums.
Housing developers have continued to scout for areas where they can set up their investments.
As Davao is being developed to become a better retirement haven in this part of the country, more and more people from all over the globe have started looking for their respective places in the city. With a bigger space to accommodate more people than other cities in the region, there certainly is a place within the city ready to welcome new members of the Davao community.
In fact, Wesley Bangayan, marketing manager of local developer Holiday Garden Island Development Corp., said they are at present taking advantage of OFW's desire to own a property in the city.
"They see Davao as a prime retirement destination and owning a property is a high priority for them and their families," he said.
Meanwhile, the industry and service sectors are the main drivers of growth in 2009. The region's economy accelerated to 5.4 percent in 2009 from 3.7 percent in 2008, mainly brought about by continuous growth of the industry and service sectors.
Accounting for the largest share of the region's economy in 2009 was the service sector with a 41.2 percent share, although this was lower than its 41.5 percent share in 2008.
The industry sector meanwhile increased its share to 34.4 percent from 32.9 percent in 2008, while agriculture, fishery and forestry (AFF)'s share decreased to 24.4 percent from 25.6 percent.
The growth of the service sector accelerated by 4.6 percent in 2009 from 3.3 percent in 2008 as all its sub-sectors also posted accelerated growth.
Sub-sectors under service sector are: trade, private services, government services, transport, communication and storage (TCS), government services, ownership of dwellings and real estate, and finance.
TCS sub-sector accelerated by 6.2 percent from 5.4 percent due to the favorable performances of land and air transports and communication.
Trade posted an accelerated growth of 2.7 percent from 2.0 percent as both wholesale and retail trade showed better performances.
Finance grew by 4.9 percent from 2.0 percent due to the increased outputs of banks and insurance.
Private services accelerated to 11.3 percent from 5.2 percent due to the improved performance in medical, business, hotel and restaurant and personal services while government services also accelerated to 6.0 percent from 4.0 percent.
The industry sector registered an accelerated growth of 10.2 percent in 2009 from 5.4 percent in 2008 due to the remarkable growth in Construction and Electricity and Water sub-sectors.
Sub-sectors falling under the industry sector include mining and quarrying; manufacturing; construction; electricity and water.
Construction accelerated by 19.6 percent from 5.5 percent because of the boom in private constructions and increase in government infrastructure projects while electricity and water also accelerated by 5.1 percent from 4.0 percent due to the increase in electricity distribution.