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Indian firms keen on expanding in Davao City Posted: 27 Feb 2022 07:50 AM PST INDIAN investors are eyeing to expand in Davao City for it is among the prime investment destinations in the country.During the Davao City - Indian Business Roadshow held on February 18, 2022, H.E. Shambhu S. Kumaran, Ambassador of India to the Philippines, said the Philippines and India are currently enjoying "a very strong and durable relationship built across centuries.""In recent years we have strengthened the relationship in various areas -- in political dialogue, defense and security, and people-to-people contact -- but nothing is more important than linking our businesses, our business communities with each other, and growing together as developing countries," Ambassador Kumaran said.April Marie C. Dayap, Officer in Charge, Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC), reported that the Indian-Philippine trade is at around US$ 2.3 billion. There are also around 150,000 Indians living in the Philippines.Ambassador Kumaran also said that the healthy trade relationship between Davao City and India is also evident with the number of businesses in Davao City owned by Indians."In Davao, there are also a lot of Indians currently living and studying in the city, which led to the considerable rise of Indian businesses, particularly restaurants and food establishments," Dayap said.Christian D. Cambaya, Economist III of DCIPC, said Davao City is still today's best option for investments in Philippines because of its favorable business climate, vibrant economy, good governance initiatives, peace and order programs, convenient accessibility with improved infrastructure projects, and having its own Investment Promotion Center. He highlighted that the current priority investment areas are in tourism, agribusiness, manufacturing, technology and healthcare. There are also opportunities in agro-processing; modern post-harvest facilities, technology, and services; trucking and agri-logistics services; and cold storage and blast freezing facilities.To woo the Indian investors, DCIPC said that under the Davao City Investment Incentive Code, companies investing in the city's investment areas would have additional fiscal incentives -- three years business tax exemption, two years real property tax exemption, and three years Mayor's permit, fees, and licenses exemption. For investments in preferred districts, investors may qualify for five years business tax exemption, five years real property tax exemption, and five years Mayor's permit, fees, and licenses exemption. "These incentives are over and above what investors may avail of under the Philippine Omnibus Investments Code," Cambaya, adding that investors can simultaneously avail of the incentives offered by either the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or Board of Investments."With this, it is easy to say that opportunities for Indian businesses in the city of Davao are enormous. Davao City offers a haven suitable for business growth due to its business-friendly environment, an abundance of natural resources, and the strong partnership between the private and government sector," Dayap said.During the roadshow, Agri Exim Global Philippines Inc., Sun Pharma, Camber Pharmaceuticals, NephroPlus, TVS Motors, Mahindra Electric, RM Chemicals, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, and HCL Technologies were among the Indian companies that participated in the roadshow. The companies, during their presentations, have expressed keen interest in expanding in Davao City.For example, Ravee Diksshit, NephroPlus Country Head, said the company is targeting to grow its current network of dialysis centers to 30 centers in the next three years. It currently has seven dialysis centers in Metro Manila. "And we want to achieve by active M&A (mergers and acquisitions) activities with free-standing clinics, with private hospitals, and also by forging PPP partnerships with government hospitals. These are some of the opportunities that NephroPlus will open up in Davao," Diksshit said.Karthic Kumar Doraisamy, Country Head, Sun Pharma said that Indian pharma companies, being the forerunners in providing quality medicines at affordable prices for healthy future to fellow Filipinos, continues to be the most trusted partner to realize the Philippines' national objective of "Health for ALL".Meanwhile, TVS Motors was looking into further expanding in Mindanao after it opened one of its largest showrooms in the Philippines in Calinan, Davao City. While Mahindra Electric was keen to introduce its electric vehicle (TREO) in Davao region, after being successfully tested in partnership with 18 Tricycle Operators and Drivers' Association (TODA) in Metro Manila, Quezon, Mandaluyong.Tata Consultancy Services Country Head Shiju Varghese said the company is hoping to invest in the skills of Dabawenyo talents for the information and technology sector. He said the sector is expected to grow by 9.2 percent in the coming year. This means it will require a workforce with skills in information and technology. Due to the increase in the demand for the skillset, the company has started an initiative TCS goIT.While Tech Mahindra shared its company's Industry footprint across eight locations in the Philippines in Telecom, Manufacturing, Banking, Retail, Health, Transportation, and Retail, with over 7000+ Filipinos employees. HCL Technologies offered collaboration with Davao City Government to provide learning opportunities to engineers and IT graduates.RM Chemicals, one of the leading Indian chemical companies offered to invest in Fertilizers Manufacturing, Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing, Olifins Processing and Surfactants Processing in the Davao region. The company has recently made investment of around 20 million USD in Cabuyao.On agribusiness, Agri Exim expressed willingness to collaborate with the City government through promoting other strong organic products which would help them in creating additional livelihood for the farmers or community in the region. The company is located in Davao Region as manufacturer and exporter of Organic Coconut Products like VCO, Coconut Flour, and RBD Coconut Cooking Oil. Around 2,000 farmers are registered under their organic programme.Davao City Acting Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte, meanwhile, said he is optimistic that the roadshow will pave more opportunities for the city and Indian firms. Nishikant Singh, First Secretary for Economic & Commerce in Indian Embassy hoped that through the roadshow, Indian investors in the healthcare, pharmaceuticals, BPO, and other industries will have greater business engagements in the city, as envisaged by the Mayor Sara Z. Duterte and Ambassador Shambhu S Kumaran.Dr. Maria Lourdes G. Monteverde, President of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), added that there are around 4,500 Indian students enrolled at the Davao Medical School Foundation. The City Chamber appreciated the presence of Indian companies in Davao region, namely TVS Motors; Bajaj and Agri Exim and offers being made for them to explore business opportunities in the Davao region. She said that this growth in local Indian businesses in Davao City shows the competitiveness of the city as an investment destination.The Davao City - Indian Business Roadshow was organized by the Economic and Commerce Wing of the Embassy of India in the Philippines in partnership with the Davao City Investments and Promotions Center (DCIPC), Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), India Business Forum - Philippines Association, Inc (IBF). Later, MoU was signed between DCCCII and IBF. Ms. Maan Doromal and Ms Joyce Mondejar coordinated the event on behalf of DCCCII and DCIPC. (PR)

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