China Belt-and-Road to benefit exporters, fruit growers — DoF
CHINA’S One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative is expected to open new markets for the Philippines, boosting the country’s manufacturing and exports, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.
“We think that Philippines will definitely benefit in participating in this One Belt, One Road project particularly in the Maritime Silk Road section of that project,” Mr. Dominguez said in a statement yesterday.
Mr. Dominguez said that it is an opportune time to join the initiative just as the government is ramping up its public infrastructure, as it would ease the flow of goods traded to within and outside the region.
“The Philippines is building a lot of infrastructure, of course with the help of China, and among the infrastructure that we are building are ports and airports. That will help lower the cost of shipping our goods to, say Hong Kong or to Shanghai and that will open markets to us along the corridor between China and the Middle East and Europe,” he noted.
“One Belt, One Road” is a project of Chinese President Xi Jinping to revive an ancient silk trading route that would connect Asian markets with Europe. It intends to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure projects including railways, ports and power grids.
China has set up the $40-billion Silk Road Fund to bankroll the scheme’s infrastructure programs, with additional financing from the $100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte signaled the country’s interest to join the initiative by attending the Silk Road Summit on May 14-15.
Mr. Dominguez said the Philippines’ manufacturing industry — particularly those firms producing electronics, and tropical fruit exporters will have expanded access to new and profitable markets under the China-led initiative.
“We are the largest exporters of tropical fruits (in Asia) so definitely there will be a lot of benefit to us if we are able to open markets in let’s say Kazakhstan, in Uzbekistan [and other countries], along the One Belt, One Road area,” Mr. Dominguez said.
Sought for comment, Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist of the Union Bank of the Philippines, said that although a lot of industries will gain ground on the initiative, the government will need deep pockets to cover the related costs.
“A lot of our industries can benefit. Industries like tourism, exports- oriented firms, services, etc. However, the OBOR initiative will need a lot of funding. Current sources will only be able to fund a part of the roughly $2 trillion to $3 trillion per year requirement for this initiative to be moving,” said Mr. Asuncion in an e-mail yesterday.
“The One Belt, One Road Initiative by China is both diplomatic and economic in motivation. It has the potential to be the world’s largest platform for regional collaboration. It is an ambitious plan that will cover 65% of the world’s population, which is about one-third of the world’s GDP, and about a quarter of all the goods and services the whole world tries to move.
“But of course, if the Philippines can position itself to benefit from OBOR, then, it must take advantage of the opportunities,” he added. —