About Davao City

Davao City offers a lot of possibilities for you and your business to grow with our abundant natural resources, vast land area, optimal climate, and diverse community. 

The good blend of rural and urban development in the city gives you the luxury of choosing whether you want to enjoy the scenic views of nature, cultivate your own parcel of land, or whether you want to access the top-of-the-line urban amenities and engage in the hustle-and-bustle of city life. 

Davao City is a place where both you and your business can live and thrive.

Why Invest in Davao City?

Ideal Place for Agribusiness

The abundant supply of agricultural products and availability of raw materials along with low labor cost, make investments in agribusiness, food production, and other agri-industrial processing viable.

Hailed as the Cacao Capital of the Philippines, the city produces up to 80% of the country’s cacao production. The city also bears the title “Durian Capital of the Philippines”, “Fruit Basket of the Philippines” and the “King City of the South” making it an exceptional choice for agribusiness.

Doing Business Made Easy

The Davao City local government ensures ease of doing business for investors by making business start-up, operation, and expansion a seamless process through pro-business legislations and procedures.

• One Stop Shop Business Permit Renewal

The One Stop Shop for Business Permit Renewal will let you complete the process within 3 steps: File, Pay, and Claim.

It is a service provided by the Davao City’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) which received a Blue Certification Level 2 Award for the compliance of the ease of doing business standards from the Office of the Ombudsman in 2020.

Favorable Business Climate

Davao City has the right conditions to make businesses flourish. With a vast land area, abundant supply of raw materials, affordable power rates, high workforce rate, and a responsive market of over 5.48 million people in Southern Mindanao, the city is ready for business growth and expansion.

Strategic Location and Vast Area

Locating in Davao means strategically positioning your business within the market of Southern Mindanao that also has access to about 57.5 million people within the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). This advantageous position makes trade movements convenient and efficient.

From the vast agricultural land in the Paquibato and Baguio districts, the eco and agri-tourism sites in Toril and Marilog districts, and to the many urban amenities in the Poblacion district, Davao City’s 2,444 sq. km. land has the ideal locations for every business and leisure opportunity.

Business Incentives

Investing in the city’s preferred investment areas will qualify businesses to receive local fiscal incentives for up to 3 years and up to 5 years if the investment is in the preferred districts. Investors will also receive non-fiscal incentives, such as investment counselling and business matching, which will be facilitated by the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC).

Strong National and Foreign Ties

Davao City’s growth is not only owed to its people, the local government, and the private sector, but also to the strong ties fostered with other cities and countries. Davao currently has 23 Sister Cities and houses 14 honorary consular offices and 4 Consular offices, all of which paved the way for mutual development in trade, commerce, tourism, and investment.

4th Most Competitive and Highly Urbanized City

The following key indicators were used as guidelines in ranking Davao city as the 4th Most Competitive and Highly Urbanized city in 2022.

• 3rd in Economic Dynamism

Davao city’s various activities that promote the stable expansion of establishments and industries as well as the growth of its workforce rate has given it the 3rd rank in economic Dynamism.

• 8th in Government Efficiency

The city also has a high-quality and reliable local government that ensures efficient and effective market expansion through pro-business policies as well as moderate and reasonable tax regulations warranting its title as 8th in Government Efficiency.

• 6th in Infrastructure

Davao has bagged 6th in Infrastructure due to the extensive expansion of its infrastructure projects in line with the current administration’s Build Build Build program. Improved ports, roads, bridges, and other projects have supported the provision of goods and services within the city.

• 6th in Resiliency

Despite the social, political, and economic challenges that it encounters, the city manages to pursue projects and initiatives that facilitate the creation of jobs and the productivity of businesses and industries. This has made Davao city the 6th resilient city in the 2022 index.

• 7th in Innovation

Davao City has become the ICT industry’s global hub for smart sourcing world-class talents, quick commerce and digital payments. In embracing innovation as a catalyst for change, the ultimate goal is to provide existing and future investors efficient and seamless transactions.