Philippines to get 300 mln dlr Japanese Loan

The Philippines has received a 300 mln dlr loan from the Japanese Export-Import Bank, Philippine Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin told Reuters.

Ongpin said the loan, carrying interest of 5.5 pct a year, matches a 300 mln dlr economic recovery loan approved by the World Bank in March.

Ongpin said Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa expressed satisfaction at the recent rescheduling of the Philippines’ 10.3 billion dlr foreign debt during a meeting here yesterday. The 14th yen aid package from Japan’s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund was also discussed.

Ongpin said the Japan is expected to respond favourably to a Philippine request to raise the aid level to between 75 and 80 billion yen.

The aid package, originally scheduled for Japan’s 1986/87 fiscal year ended March, was delayed because of the Philippines’ change of government last year.

“The Japanese have indicated we may not get as much as we are asking for in one big jump from the 13th yen package of 49 billion yen,” he said. “But they are likely to bring it up to that level for the 15th package.”

Ongpin said Manila had 14 projects in the pipeline for the 14th yen package.

“We are trying get the 15th package mainly in the form of untied commodity loans,” he said.

Discussion on a Philippine request for 500 mln dlrs in soft loans to finance a land reform program, for which Japan is expected to supply most of the financing, had been put off until next month because of delays in preparatory work.

Ongpin said he will make a strong pitch for the land reform program in his speech on Tuesday at the 20th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here.

Ongpin said the Philippines is very happy about the ADB’s support after President Corazon Aquino took over from deposed leader Ferdinand Marcos.

“But I would like to see them push more aggressively in the field of lending to the private sector,” he said.

The Philippines was the bank’s second-biggest borrower after Pakistan in 1986, with loans totalling 316 mln dlrs.

Ongpin said he expects ADB lending to the Philippines in 1987 to reach the same level.

“They have told us they can lend us two billion dlrs if we want. But we have to come up with the projects,” he said.