THE Singapore Business Federation (SBF) is interested in investing in port development, information technology, and agribusiness in Davao Region.
“There are a couple of areas we can look at. One is the port facility because in any country that wants to develop trade, port is a very important part of it. Our company’s got PSA, an agency that runs the Singapore port,” said SBF assistant executive director Thian Tai Chew.
Chew added their port facility investment assistance can cover planning, construction, and operating. PSA Singapore, a government-linked company, had been operating ports in other countries including China and Indonesia.
For the IT industry, Chew said they are particularly interested in investing in software development and digitalization, e-commerce, and financial technology.
“These are new areas that are coming out – data analytics, cloud computing. These are the new things that are happening right now and is really distracting a lot of businesses. These are the areas that we can say, we are experienced, and I think it is good that we can find ways, we can collaborate,” Chew said.
He also said Davao City has started to export durian in Singapore.
Agriculture, Chew said, is one area that will have a lot of trade potentials as the main source of supply from Malaysia is drying out and they are currently exploring other sources for this year including the Philippines.
“I really hope the businesses here can really find partners that can work together to see any opportunities that may develop, not just in Davao, but also in Singapore. We’ll see how we can do a bilateral win-win for everybody,” he said.
On Wednesday, August 2, a Davao-Singapore Business Forum was held at the Park Inn Hotel headed by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., Representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry, Board of Investments, Davao City Investment and Promotions Center, Mindanao Development Authority, and the National Economic and Development Authority presented updates and investment potentials in the region and in Davao City.