Philippine officials off to Tokyo for samurai bond roadshow

MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine delegation is set to visit Tokyo this week to brief potential investors on the Philippine economy and discuss with Japanese officials the progress of the administration’s infrastructure projects, the Department of Finance (DOF) said over the weekend.

According to the DOF, the team – led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez – will be in Tokyo from June 18 to 21 to conduct its second Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB).

On June 20, members of the government’s Build Build Build  team will also attend the fifth meeting of the Philippines-Japan High-Level Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation to discuss the progress of the flagship infrastructure projects the administration is implementing with the help of Japanese official development assistance (ODA).

Dominguez said the meeting would focus on how the two governments could further improve their cooperation and explore ways and measures to eliminate bottlenecks in loan processing and project implementation.

“We will look at our projects, to review the progress and to see if there are any bottlenecks we can eliminate,” Dominguez said.

Aside from these activities, Secretary Dominguez said the Philippine delegation would also set the groundwork for the deal roadshow that the government would roll out for its planned yen-denominated samurai bonds issuance.

The finance secretary is scheduled to meet officials from Daiwa Securities Group, Nomura Holdings Inc, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. to discuss the samurai bond float, which is expected by the third or fourth quarter of 2018.

Dominguez would also hold a separate meeting with officials of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to discuss possible areas of cooperation between the Philippines and the financial institution.

Other officials who would accompany Dominguez during the trip include Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., and Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Vivencio Dizon.

According to the DOF, the Philippines-Japan High-Level Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation has made substantial progress since convening for the first time in March 2017 in Tokyo.

As a result of the joint committee’s regular meetings, the Philippines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) last March 16 signed a ¥104.53-billion loan agreement for the construction of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project, the country’s first-ever underground rail system.

This loan amount represents the first tranche of the ¥573.73 billion (approximately $5.31 billion or P259.6 billion) pledged by JICA for the first phase of the subway project, which is the biggest amount Japan has ever committed to any country.

The Philippines and JICA also inked a ¥9.399-billion ($89 million or P4.25 billion) loan agreement for the construction of the third phase of the Arterial Road Bypass Project that is designed to ease traffic congestion in Bulacan and spur economic growth in the province’s rural areas.

Last May 15, the two countries signed a ¥2 billion grant agreement as Japan’s support  for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the devastated city of Marawi in Mindanao.