RP gets $600m loan

RP gets $600m loan

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines signed agreements for Japanese loans worth 600-million dollars under the so-called Miyazawa fund, it was announced here Wednesday.

The two US$300 million loans are to co-finance reform programs in the Philippines' power and banking sectors with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, a statement from the finance department said.

The agreements were signed by Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu and Hidemi Kawai, senior executive director of the Export-Import Bank of Japan.

The reforms that the Japanese funds will help bankroll would have "far reaching impact" in reinforcing the economy to help it "withstand financial shocks," Espiritu said.

He said the banking sector reform program would help strengthen the regulatory functions of the financial system as well as promote transparency, and the power sector reforms were aimed at developing a more private sector-driven environment.