PPP pitched to Japanese investors

MANILA, Philippines - Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Arsenio M. Balisacan is pitching Philippine infrastructure and power projects, particularly those under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program, to investors in Japan.

In an economic briefing on Philippine infrastructure and investment plans in Tokyo, Balisacan told Japanese investors that there are hundreds of infrastructure-related projects worth billions of dollars in need of private investors.

For 2013-2016, the priority programs and projects for the infrastructure sector consist of 952 projects with total investment requirements amounting to about $46.69 billion, including capital infrastructure projects, both ongoing and proposed.

“Investment requirements for infrastructure development remain huge despite increased public infrastructure spending. Therefore, this will be supplemented by private sector investments through PPPs,” said Balisacan.

He told Japanese investors that the Philippine government is reviewing and outlining policies and legal framework involving private sector participation to make it easier to start and maintain business.

These include the build-operate-transfer (BOT) law and the joint venture (JV) guidelines. Likewise, reforms in the energy sector, particularly the approval of the feed-in-tariff (FiT) rates, also aim to increase private sector participation by encouraging investments in renewable energy (RE) projects.

The Updated Philippine Development Plan identified six key sectors that generate high quality employment for Filipinos and huge private sector investment. These are manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism, information technology-business process management, logistics, and construction.

Balisacan also told investors that the Philippine government targets gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 6.5 to 7.5 percent in 2014. It grew 7.2 percent in 2013.

For 2015, the growth rate is targeted at seven to eight percent, and 7.5 to 8.5 percent in 2016.

The industry sector is projected to grow the fastest, while the services sector is expected to remain robust during the period.

“Given all these, the government is working to step up investments in infrastructure to be at par with other competing economies and to meet the country’s future growth requirements,” the chief economic planner said.