Japan bank, Indonesian tycoon offer help to PH

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with Chairman Tadashi Maeda of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) at the Malacañan Palace on May 31, 2023. PHOTO FROM BBM FB

A big financial institution owned by the Japanese government is looking at several partnerships with Philippine companies on energy development, while an Indonesian tycoon has committed to assist President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration improve the lives of Filipinos through social work and the provision of low-cost housing and possibly a hospital, Malacañang said Thursday, June 1.

Chair Tadashi Maeda of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) met with President Marcos in Malacañang on Wednesday to relay the bank’s intention to have energy tie-ups with local firms in the areas of liquefied natural gas and other power sources such as hydropower, solar, and wind.

JBIC is a leading player in the international financial market and has supported projects worldwide in infrastructure, natural resources, and renewable energy through direct loans, guarantees, and equity.

READ: Palace: JBIC seeks partners in PH energy sector

Press Secretary Cheloy Velicaria Garafil said Maeda told Marcos that he already had meetings with Aboitiz Group chief executive Sabin Aboitiz, San Miguel Corp. chair Ramon Ang, and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chair Manuel Pangilinan.

“We have the potential…between Japan and the Philippines to work together,” Maeda was quoted as saying by Garafil.

‘Interest’ in MIF

According to Maeda, he already proposed to Aboitiz a possible memorandum of understanding, but noted that there was a need to identify the specific project, determine how to switch to more efficient energy, and the development of new technology such as hydrogen.

READ: Marcos: 3 private Japanese firms committed to investing in Maharlika fund

Maeda said JBIC also wanted to know more details about the country’s potential projects so it could make more tangible and specific proposals.

At the meeting, the JBIC official also hailed the passage of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) and “expressed interest” in the sovereign wealth fund, Garafil said.

In response, Marcos said these were the kinds of investments for which the MIF was created.

The MIF bill is now awaiting the President’s signature after Congress approved it on Wednesday, May 31.

READ: A windfall from Japan

P42-M donation

Meanwhile, Indonesian tycoon Dato’ Sri Tahir met the President in the Palace on Tuesday, May 30, and handed 1 million Singaporean dollars, or about P41.6 million, as a donation to the government.

The 71-year-old Indonesian banking and property magnate told Marcos he was eager to see and congratulate the Philippine leader after winning the elections in 2022.

According to the Palace, Tahir met the Marcos family in Hawaii when they were in exile.

“So maybe I can use this opportunity [because] I like to see, explore, [how] we can work together in social work. We have been working in the region. So, I hope that with your permission, with your support, let me arrange to explore [ways to help],” the Palace quoted Tahir as telling Marcos.

The President briefed Tahir on the current government social welfare programs for children and the elderly, as well as the ongoing initiatives for housing.

Housing target

Marcos told Tahir that the government was targeting a million socialized housing units annually for the next six years, citing the backlog of 6.5 million units.

Tahir said he was also interested in building a hospital in the Philippines.

“We are running the largest private hospital in Indonesia. So maybe if we can invest also in hospital here,” he said.

The President said he would ask the concerned government agencies to help Tahir put together his proposals when he comes back to the country sometime in July or August.

Tahir founded the Mayapada Group, an Indonesian conglomerate with interests in finance, health care, hotel and real estate, specialty retail, media and mining.

In 2019, he was appointed a member of the Presidential Advisory Council by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

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