A group of Japanese investors was in town for a look-see over the weekend. They were 3 top executives of an I.T. firm based in Tokyo, and a Manila-based Japanese investor. They were accompanied by a Filipino investment agent who contacted the Department of Trade & Industry – XI for arrangements in Davao.
The group, led by Mr. Kunihisa Suzuki, is keen on establishing an offshore I.T. development center, focusing on software solutions. The Tokyo-based executives represent SanaDo Global Solutions. Its business development officer, Mr. Toshiya Shishido, explained that their expertise lies in Microsoft technologies, as well as in Java. During their meeting with DTI-XI and myself (as the chair of the ICT Cluster of the Economic Development Council-Region XI), Mr. Shishido expressed interest in Davao’s I.T. manpower supply. In that department, Davao can definitely compete with other I.T. investment destinations. He and his colleagues were also delighted to find out that there are Japanese language schools in the city. However, he did clarify that proficiency in Nihongo is not a prerequisite for employment. (Such is the advantage of software development — the language of programming is international.)
Aside from manpower, the Japanese group is concerned about office space and investment incentives. To this end, DTI-XI arranged for site visits to Damosa, the A&M building, and the JIB contact center training facility on Mabini St. It is rather unfortunate, however, that the group was not at all impressed by Davao’s upcoming I.T. park. For one thing, these investors are looking for an existing building. But there’s more.
Damosa Land’s I.T. park project, which has been proclaimed by the President as a PEZA-registered I.T. investment zone, should be a feather in Davao’s cap. It should be rightfully at the forefront of the city’s investment promotion efforts. But at the rate they’re going, with regards their marketing initiatives, it might be a while before we can break out the champagne….
Truth be told, it was embarrassing for me that Damosa Land’s representative was unable to satisfy the Japanese investors’ queries. Basic information such as power generation capabilities, planned rollout of Internet leased lines, etc. were unavailable. In fact, I had previously requested for similar data from Damosa Land’s marketing person several months ago. To no avail. The park’s mock-up was all that was presented to the group. A very well-crafted model, yes, but when it comes to getting investors to sign a contract, it will need a whole lot more than fancy presentations. Japanese businessmen are especially meticulous: they’ll even want to know how many electrical outlets there’ll be per room.
Fortunately, DTI-XI was able to show the potential investors alternate choices for their office space requirements. Also, Davao’s peace & order situation, and the cleanliness of the city, clearly impressed them. (It’s interesting to note that they found it a plus factor that there are plenty of coffee shops with free WiFi access here.) The only remaining concern now is the investment incentives package. Should this group decide to locate here, but opt for a place other than the I.T. park, they won’t be able to avail of PEZA incentives, which are indeed considerable.
Will present local incentives — perhaps coupled with BOI’s — be attractive enough for them to choose Davao? They are in fact considering Cebu as well. With the Queen City’s track record vis-a-vis the Land of Promise’s performance to-date, how will the latter fare in the toss-up?
Davao does have a fighting chance, but only if we shape up and strive to be at par with — or surpass — competing investment destinations in the country. This is not a chicken-and-egg problem: there is no question that we must always initiate and constantly innovate. Down to brass tacks, this translates to our being prepared with comprehensive data pertinent to investing in Davao. It isn’t a simple task, that’s why it has to be accomplished ASAP.
(This article is published in Sun·Star Davao.)
One thing I noticed about Damosa in their endeavours is that they’re so focused on real estate development that they forget about everything else. I’ve had a first-hand experience in how they managed Damosa Gateway and it wasn’t at all pleasant for many of the tenants (I believe your uncle can attest to that Blogs). It appears that, for them, as long as the rent payments are coming in, they won’t do any more than what they’re already doing.
The encounter between Damosa and the Japanese above is a also a good reason on why we must gain knowledge about our target market on top of knowledge about our own competencies. We have to know our market in order for us to maximise the value we provide to them. Damosa’s ignorance of the needs of the Japanese resulted in a poor presentation that did not win any contracts. Its complacency is going to be a big hindrance in the success of their so called I.T. Park. If they don’t shape up, their so called I.T. development initiative will end up as just another so-so land development project that won’t add much value to the community.
Very insightful, Mark! I really appreciate your thoughts — they give me more material for future blog posts.
Davao can’t wait to have you back!
Thanks blog. Actually, it just so happens that I’m researching on business incubators, science parks, I.T. parks, and other related (but very distinct) endeavors right now. Your comment about Damosa’s project just hit the right string.
I will keep tabs on this I.T. park project. And then there’s another one in the pipeline: SM’s development project. I will blog about that as well.
Hi Blogie,
Thank you for posting a comment on my post on IT in Davao at http://www.istambay.wordpress.com.
I spotted some missing links in Mr. Fornier’s presentation. Its actually the reason why I delayed my MindaNews article about his statements during the Kapihan sa SM City on Monday.
I posted the initial statements to generate comments, and thank you for feeding in.
I was supposed to interview Mr. Fornier yesterday, but he got tangled in meetings. Your post presented to me more salient points for the interview, thank you.
I am also interested to interview you, if possible. Ok ra? I know that aside from writing for SunStar you are also cluster chair for ICT of the region’s economic development council.
Anyway, I believe as an industry leader or a key person in the industry, your points form part of the main ingridients in this recent public fora on the city’s IT industry.
I’m just too eager now to see how the private and the public sector work together on this. Hope to see you soon!
[...] but aren’t stakeholders and industry leaders supposed to work together and shape up? Read this post at I.T. Talks blog for better perspectives on the [...]