China ‘Silk Road’ for Phl infra hits snags — report

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte attended the China-sponsored “One Belt, One Road” Summit in Beijing last year, signalling Manila's interest in the multibillion-dollar fund earmarked by the Asian power for the infrastructure initiative aimed at linking Asia, Africa, and Europe.

But there’s one problem: China’s ambitious plan to revive an ancient “Silk Road” is reportedly facing a serious financing obstacle, while attracting private investors to take part in the initiative remains a challenge.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post dated April 16, funding infrastructure projects along countries in the Silk Road would be a hurdle, as these nations' debt levels are “far above recognized safety levels.” “It would be a tremendous task to raise funds for the countries’ development,” Li Ruogu, the former president of Export-Import Bank of China, was quoted as saying by SCMP.

In 2015, state-run China Development Bank announced it had set aside $890 billion for more than 900 projects across 60 countries. Meanwhile, the Export-Import Bank of China said it would finance 1,000 projects in 49 countries.

But despite being financed by key financial institutions, "major problems" such as narrow financing platforms and low profitability levels remain for the Belt and Road program, said Wang Yiming, deputy head of the Development Research Centre of China’s State Council.