PH eyes AIIB on funding of infra projects

The Duterte administration is looking forward to working with the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has already made "great strides" in providing financial support to its partners even if it has been in operation for just two years, a cabinet official said.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III congratulated AIIB President Jin Liqun and lauded the lender’s “excellent” record in financing projects, as well as its organizational efficiency and keen focus on poverty reduction.

“I'm very happy to note that they have made great strides and in fact have lent more on their own than in partnership with others. It's something like 55-45 percent right now, and I think it's an excellent record for a bank so young,” Dominguez said.

“We look forward to working with them and of course benefiting from loans and grants from the AIIB,” added Dominguez, who for the first time attended the annual AIIB meeting, which was held on Jeju Island in South Korea.

In an earlier interview, Dominguez said the Philippines is awaiting the bank’s approval of its planned co-financing with the World Bank of the P23.46 billion Metro Manila Flood Control Management Project, which is listed among the proposed projects in the AIIB website.

The first phase of the project includes the rehabilitation of 36 pumping stations in Metro Manila and the construction of 20 new ones in Manila, Pasay, Pasig, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Quezon City.

The project was approved by the Investment Coordination Committee and National Economic and Development Authority last September.

The Philippines had also presented for possible AIIB co-financing the P37.76 billion EDSA Bus Rapid Transit system, which is partly funded by the Asian Development Bank.

In the First AIIB Governors Session held on Jeju Island, it was reported that a three-year Information Technology Masterplan for the bank has now entered its second phase, which involves putting in place appropriate measures to ensure that AIIB's robust operations remain continuous and resilient against external shocks.

"We want to be an ethical, innovative and agile institution," said AIIB President Jin in his message to the Bank Governors. The second AIIB meeting highlighted the massive infrastructure requirements of its members--from the smallest to the largest ones.

The members discussed ways to improve their respective policy environments with the end view of optimizing the economic benefits of infrastructure and instituting reforms to ensure the viability of these infrastructure investments.

"Well integrated infrastructure and enhanced connectivity between Asia and the rest of the world has far reaching benefits for the global economy," Jin said.

The AIIB Risk Management Framework has also been set up with its first phase expected to be completed by December this year.

The AIIB’s membership has grown from 57 in 2016 to 80 this year. The memberships of Tonga, Argentina and Madagascar were the latest to be approved during the AIIB Meeting.

The three prospective members will officially join AIIB once they complete the required domestic processes and deposit the first installment of capital with the Bank. The shares allocated to the new prospective members come from the Bank’s existing pool of unallocated shares.

In its first year of operation in 2016, the AIIB has approved loans of over $1.7 billion to help fund seven infrastructure projects across seven countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, Indonesia, Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Oman. It now lists 12 approved projects and 13 projects in the pipeline on its website.

The Philippines became a full member of the AIIB on Dec. 28, 2016.

“I'm very happy that we joined, this is a very dynamic organization,” Dominguez said. “I must congratulate AIIB President Jin for bringing the organization so far, so fast (in just two years of its existence).”

India will host the third annual AIIB Meeting in Mumbai in June 2018.

Dominguez earlier said the government is exploring hybrid financing arrangements that will combine development aid and loans in raising more funds for its big-ticket infrastructure projects while keeping down borrowing costs.