By Bruce Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News
Posted at August 18, 2021
MANILA – A local real estate developer said the Davao region’s growth is poised to continue outpacing the national average.
At the virtual launch of the Davao Investment Conference 2021, real estate businessman and conference chairman Ricardo Floirendo Lagdameo said they are seeing a lot of growth opportunities in the Southern Philippine region, especially in real estate, manufacturing, agri-business, and tourism.
“Our growth has actually beat the national average again so it’s really a combination of all of these things and, of course, it really has to be both private and government spending,” Lagdameo noted.
In 2019, the Davao region’s GDP grew 7 percent compared to a 5.9 percent growth for the whole country.
This was however still slightly below the 7.2 percent growth posted by the National Capital Region and the 7.4 percent growth posted by the Bicol region, but higher than regional powerhouses Calabarzon and Central Visayas which grew 4.5 percent and 5.9 percent respectively that year.
Lagdameo, who’s vice president of a local property developer, Damosa Land, noted that big national developers have also set up projects in the region.
“We’ve also started to see more people seeing Mindanao as a manufacturing hub and so it’s not just Luzon or CALABARZON. Industrial parks are starting to spout up so we all hope that that will continue,” Lagdameo added.
Global real estate services firm JLL said it has also set up its first office in Davao City.
“We’re seeing more and more business for tenants or investors asking us to tell them what makes Davao different from Cebu or Metro Manila,” Christophe Vicic country head at JLL Philippines.
David Leechiu, chief executive officer of Leechiu Property Consultants, the rise of Davao tycoons and taipans has also helped drive investments in the region.
“It will come to a point that Metro Davao will attract more and more investment just because of the size of the per capital income in Davao and neighboring provinces,” Leechiu said.
