TWELVE private business agreements worth US$1.8 billion were sealed during the recent three-day state visit of President Rodrigo Duterte to Japan.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, in a press conference, said aside from the signed deals, Japanese general trading company Marubeni Corporation “verbally” committed to invest $17.2 billion in the Philippines, particularly for mass transportation, roads, water and power projects.
“It’s a verbal offer so it was not signed but they’re (Marubeni) already existing here,” Abella said.
Marubeni Philippines Corp is involved in trading, finance, logistics, Build-Operate-Transfer projects, joint ventures and investments in various industries such as telecommunications, information technology, power, agriculture, transportation, construction, and metals, among others.
Abella said Marubeni is interested in building infrastructure, especially in the area of power, within the medium term, or within five years.
Aside from the business deals, the Philippines and Japan signed two official development assistance (ODA) loans of up to 21.383 billion yen.
One of the two projects is the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Phase II. The project involves building two patrol ships to be used by PCG to improve its capabilities (search and rescue and maritime law enforcement) to quickly respond to maritime incidents.
The other project is the Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation or HARVEST. It aims to promote activities that contribute to the creation of employment opportunities and the enhancement of household income through the improvement of access to financing and the vitalization of economic activities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and its environs. This will be done through the provision of funds for investment in plant and equipment, operating capital, etc. to private businesses and agricultural cooperatives.
Abella said the Philippines and Japan also agreed to harness ODA to support inclusive growth and sustainable development in the country.
“Japan is our number one ODA partner and under the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), high-impact projects benefiting our urban and rural areas will be undertaken,” President Duterte said in a press conference after the visit.
He said enhancing capabilities in maritime security and maritime domain awareness is a key priority and “Japan will play a vital role in modernizing the Philippines’ capacities as a nation with maritime interests to protect.”
A Memorandum of Implementation and Letter of Arrangement for the transfer of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s training aircraft TC-90s was also signed, according to the joint statement issued by both countries.
Members of the Duterte administration have been on successive overseas trips to strengthen ties with regional neighbors. Recent destinations included Laos, Indonesia, Brunei, and China, with the latter committing $24 billion worth of investment pledges and credit facilities to the country. Duterte’s next destination is Malaysia where he will discuss ways to end piracy on the Malacca Strait.
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