THE President and his delegation are back from state visits to China and Japan to boost the economic relationships between the Philippines and the two countries. Trade Secretary Ramon R. Lopez enumerated a list of signed investment projects worth $15 billion as a result of the meetings in China. Aside from these, there are also credit-line pledges that bring to $24 billion the total amount of Chinese investments and loans.
Included on the list of investment projects signed in China are infrastructure projects—railway, real estate, renewable energy, bridge construction, manufacturing, telecommunication, transportation and flood-control projects, among others. These are expected to generate 2 million jobs for Filipinos over the next five years.
The $9-billion credit-line pledges will be coming from the China State and Bank of China, according to Lopez. For the Duterte administration, these investments and pledges are a sign of “greater confidence” in the economic relationship between China and our country.
Shortly after the visit to China, Duterte went on a three-day state visit to Japan to improve cooperation as far as the two countries’ various industries are concerned. As a result of the visit, the Philippine-Japan Industrial Cooperation Action Plan (Icap) was signed. Under the Icap, both countries will be working together to support manufacturing, automotive, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), (various) industries and services, and human resources.
Apart from the signing of the agreement, business deals and pledges worth $19 billion were also secured in Japan. Marubeni Corp., one of Japan’s biggest integrated trading and investment business conglomerates, pledged about $17.2 billion.
The projects from Marubeni would focus on “mass-transport systems, roads and highways, water and power.” Some of the other business agreements include a solar project, green city development, agriculture and manufacturing projects.
The Philippine Investment and Economic Forum was also held in Japan during the President’s visit. It was attended by around 1,000 Japanese businessmen and 200 Filipino business executives. As with China, the Philippine government is also determined to boost the trade and investment relations with Japan after the presidential visit.
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Based on recent reports from the government, the Philippines’s poverty incidence dropped to 21.6 percent in 2015. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said it expects the figure to drop further when the current administration ends in 2022.
According to Neda Director Renaldo R. Cancio, there are 1.4 million less poor Filipinos in 2015 than in 2009. This is attributed to the fact that more Filipinos were able to secure stable and high-paying jobs in the past six years.
And so with the closing of various investment deals from China and Japan, the employment rate is seen to improve further and hopefully lead more Filipinos toward better lives and economic opportunities.
More on the Neda’s statements on the 2015 Official Poverty Statistics in my next column.