A PHILIPPINE government team will head for Japan this week to present investment opportunities in the country, setting the tone for a planned “samurai” bond sale, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement over the weekend.
Government officials will hold a Philippine Economic Briefing in Tokyo on Tuesday and will meet with Japanese counterparts for the fifth Philippines-Japan High-Level Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation on Wednesday.
According to the DoF, the briefing will “lay out the Duterte administration’s plan to sustain the Philippines’ status as one of the fastest-expanding economies in Asia and its programs for inclusive growth,” and will also “set the groundwork for the deal road show that the government will roll out for its planned yen-denominated samurai bonds issue.”
National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon has said that the government plans to raise about $1 billion from the yen-denominated debt sale and has already started to secure necessary regulatory approvals for the move.
On the first day in Japan, Finance department officials will also meet with top executives of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Nomura, Mizuho, Daiwa and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to discuss the Philippines’ planned “samurai” bond sale being considered for the third quarter or early fourth quarter.
The DoF added that its delegation will also meet with officials of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to discuss “possible areas of cooperation” on Tuesday.
Officials participating in the economic briefing include Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III; Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia; Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno; Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade; Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr.; Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Vivencio B. Dizon and Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea.
The Philippines regularly conducts international no-deal road shows prior to its sale of bonds to investors offshore. The Philippines went to Shanghai five months before its maiden renminbi-denominated “panda” bond offer in March.
The second day of the Japan visit will see Messrs. Pernia and Dominguez leading other Philippine officials at the high-level meeting with Japanese counterparts to discuss the progress of Japan-funded projects.
The DoF said that the meeting will discuss measures to eliminate bottlenecks in loan use and project implementation.
This follows a meeting held in Cebu last February that paved the way for the signing of the initial P259.6-billion loan agreement for the construction of the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project on March in Manila.
Japan and the Philippines also recently signed loan agreements covering the P4.25-billion Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase 3 and the P9.99-billion Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project, the P2.05-billion Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation and the Philippine Coast Guard’s P6.8-billion Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project, as well as a P1.84-billion grant pact for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi City. — E. J. C. Tubayan

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