Background Summary
Over the past 18 months, Sagacity Partners undertook a detailed assessment of the SOCCSKSARGEN area which is located on the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines, and is officially designated as Region XII. The name is a concatenation of the region's three provinces: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and, General Santos City. The economy in this region is driven by agriculture, fishery and forestry and account for 42% of the regional domestic product. Complemented by good weather and the government's pro- agricultural economic programs, this all contributes to the primary sector's favorable performance.
Region XII is endowed with natural resources rich in minerals, coal, and bountiful fresh water that can produce high value crops. The region is under-explored and there are vast lands available for continued agricultural development that holds significant potential for investment.
The major crops in the region are rice, corn, coconut, pineapple, oil palm, coffee, sugarcane, banana, rubber and mango. The major export industries are comprised of fresh, canned and frozen tuna, octopus, shrimps and other fish products, fresh and canned pineapples, pineapple juice, fresh bananas and banana chips, coconuts, crude and cochin-type coconut oil, copra pellets, cut flowers, okra, abaca pulp, garments, handicrafts, gifts and housewares products.
General Santos City incorporates the biggest airport and seaport in the region, which was categorized as a major port of entry especially within the Brunei/Indonesia/ Malaysia/Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and caters to large aircraft and inter-island vessels for passengers and cargo.
There are a number of reported copper, gold and coal prospects within SOCCSKSARGEN but they have not been systematically explored or developed, giving hope of excellent potential. Sagittarius Mining, Inc. (part of Xstrata, the world’s 8th largest mining company) is developing the world class Tampakan Project in South Cotabato, the largest undeveloped copper deposit in the South East Asian Region with estimated development costs of over US$7 billion.
The underlying economic development potential of the region has led to a Memorandum of Agreement last April 2011 between the SOCCSKSARGEN tribal ethnic groups (i.e. T’duray, B’laan, T’boli, Ubo and Manobo), Eldore Resources Corporation, and Sagacity Holdings Ltd. organized under the Indigenous People Economic Enterprise (IPEE). The agreement focused on the evaluation and development of feasible economic enterprises within the IPEE territories.
Sagacity has focused on evaluating possible economic enterprises for the IPEE within Region XII, concluding with the following seven categories: Forestry, Agriculture, High Grade Copper and Gold Ore processing, Livestock, Aquaculture, Energy and Ecotourism.