Japanese firm plans hospital in RP

Japanese firm plans hospital in RP

MANILA: Japan's Tokushukai Medical Group has signed a preliminary deal to set up a 1,000-bed, US$100 million hospital in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Investment said on Friday.

Philippine trade secretary Cesar Purisima and Tokushukai president Torao Tokuda, signed the memorandum last week during Purisima's visit to Japan, the department said in a statement.

The hospital, to be called the Benigno Aquino Memorial Hospital, will cater to Filipinos, other foreigners and Japanese nationals who are residents and those who may travel to the Philippines to benefit from lower medical costs.

It will be named after Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, the husband of former president Corazon Aquino, an opposition leader who was killed by soldiers of then-ruling strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. -- AFP