THE Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) reported that new investments in 2014 in the city dropped by 1.6 percent.
DCIPC officer-in-charge Ivan C. Cortez, who guested in Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao, said the investments slipped to P6.3 billion in 2014 from P6.4 billion in the previous year.
Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp. (SAMC)'s P3-billion Davao Works Rolling Mill in Bunawan was last year's biggest investment, Cortez said.
Real estate, condominiums, and land development continued to propel the city's economy in 2014, he said.
Despite the minimal decrease, total capitalization rose by 3.94 percent, to P211 billion in 2014 from P203 billion in the previous year.
The number of business establishments also went up to 36,461 in 2014 from 33,052 in 2013.
Cortez said the survival rate for businesses in Davao City is expected to be around 90 percent, higher than neighboring cities and towns, which have a survival rate of 60-70 percent.
He said businesses in the city continued to grow with the emergence of new market and the growing demand for more services.
"And also because all the ingredients in growing your business is in Davao City that is why we continue to grow in the past two decades," he said.
For 2015, Cortez sees brighter prospects brought about by the slump in oil prices which can lead to enhanced purchasing power, lower inflation, better consumer spending, and lower cost of living.
He said the city will continue to attract information communication technology - business process outsourcing establishments since it is not usually affected by typhoons.