Standard Chartered offers assistance to Mindanao railway project

MANILA, Philippines - Standard Chartered Bank has offered financial and technical assistance to the Philippines for the implementation of a proposed railway system in Mindanao, the Department of Finance (DOF) said yesterday.

The DOF said the UK-based bank has expressed interest to provide assistance to the government’s infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, particularly the Mindanao Railway project.

“There are five projects approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), and the largest is the railway in Mindanao. We want to see how we can help there,” said Lynete Ortiz, chief executive officer and country head of Standard Chartered’s global banking division for the Philippines.

The bank also offered its services to facilitate the conversion of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) into the country’s infrastructure bank.

“We also want to clarify how we can help closely DBP as an infra bank – putting up an infra fund, or providing advisory services,” Ortiz said.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the DOF and the DBP welcome the foreign bank’s help in this endeavor.

“We’d really like to partner with you on this.  (DBP president and CEO) Cecille (Borromeo) will welcome working with you, especially with your experience in Asia,” he told Ortiz during a recent meeting.

The finance chief also discussed with Standard Chartered officials the government’s plan to sell Chinese renminbi-denominated bonds this year and the possibility of offering green bonds and project bonds to help finance the country’s infrastructure buildup program.

Dominguez also informed the bank of the plan to rehabilitate the Agus hydropower complex in Mindanao to ensure the island’s energy security.

“We’ll rehabilitate those, and bid out their operations and maintenance.  That will be a few years down the road. But this is the time to do it, because we have excess power in Mindanao at the moment,” Dominguez said.

The Philippine government is planning to embark on an economic strategy anchored on a massive infrastructure program, to sustain economic growth, increase job opportunities and reduce poverty.

Dubbed “Build, Build, Build,” the government’s infrastructure program would require about P8.4 trillion in investments over the medium term, with infrastructure spending projected to reach 7.4 percent of GDP by 2022.

According to Dominguez, this program could lead to a shortage of manpower and skills due to the large labor demand for the projects.

However, he said the government is counting on overseas Filipino workers to return home and help implement these projects.