The agreement with Philippine company BDO Unibank was signed by JBIC’s Governor, Akira Kondoh, on 3rd August. It will establish a $50 million credit line co-financed with Japanese private financial institutions with JBIC providing a partial guarantee for the co-financed portion. This is the first occasion on which JBIC has helped to finance green projects in the country.
The Philippine government submitted the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in October 2015 ahead of the COP21 agreement, in light of its vulnerability to climate changes and natural disasters as an archipelago country. With these pledges, the Philippines government has been taking vigorous steps to implement measures to cope with climate change, which include setting the goal of reducing GHG emissions by 70 percent by 2030 relative to its BAU (Business As Usual) scenario of 2000-2030. This credit line is expected to assist the reduction of GHG emissions and promotion of the government’s environmental policy while propagating advanced Japanese environmental technologies which have received high international recognition. This is also in line with an initiative announced by the Japanese government in December 2015, “Actions for Cool Earth: ACE2.0.”
JBIC and BDO have been building a cooperative relationship, such as signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2013 for the development and the strengthening of frameworks to support business expansion into the Philippines by Japanese mid-tier enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through Japanese regional financial institutions. The new credit line is intended to further strengthen such partnership between the two organisations, with a target on the environmental sector.
As Japan's policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to support global environmental conservation efforts in cooperation with local banks, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects, and performing its risk-assuming functions.
Image: Northwind Bangui Bay windfarm, llangos Norte, Philippines
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