PH gets $3B in soft loans from South Korea | Global News
FOUR-YEAR FACILITY

PH gets $3B in soft loans from South Korea

/ 05:48 AM December 23, 2022

The Philippines has asked China to clarify the discrepancy between each other’s reports on the Nov. 20 incident involving the Chinese Coast Guard’s seizure of rocket debris being towed by the Philippine Navy in disputed waters near Spratly Islands, as Manila stood by its version of an unfriendly interaction between the two sides.

Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE)

The South Korean government has pledged $3 billion worth of concessional infrastructure loans to the Philippines over the next four years as part of its continuing efforts to assist allies’ economic development. According to Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, the framework agreement for the loans was signed last Dec. 21, as part of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of the South Korean government.

The $3-billion concessional loan will be used for infrastructure and road network developments from 2022 to 2026. Manalo said the amount this year is three times bigger than the previous.

Article continues after this advertisement

“I look forward to more fruitful engagements and acknowledge with deep appreciation Korea’s swift, steady, substantial and continuing contribution to the socioeconomic development in the Philippines,” Manalo said.

FEATURED STORIES

6th biggest ODA source

Manalo said South Korea is the sixth largest source of official development assistance (ODA) of the Philippines.

South Korean Consul General Kyooho Lee told the Inquirer that the government only needs to repay 12.6 percent of the loan.

Article continues after this advertisement

“[The remaining] 88.4 percent will not be repaid by the Philippines,” Lee said.

Article continues after this advertisement

The South Korean loan has a 0.15 percent average loan interest rate, a grace period of 10 years, and a maturity period of 40 years. “It means that Korea’s concessional loan is almost [a] grant,” he said.

Article continues after this advertisement

Continuous aid

Manalo thanked Korean Ambassador Kim Inchul for the embassy’s continuous assistance to the country, not just through the economy.

“In the past, the 2017-2022 Korea Country Partnership Strategy for the Philippines supported the Philippine Government on sustainable rural development, improved access to basic health services, universal health-care system, water management and distribution system, infrastructure for transport systems and strengthened disaster preparedness,” he said.

Article continues after this advertisement

Early this December, the embassy celebrated the first 1,000 days (F1KD) of its efforts to stop stunting among 19 municipalities in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar and Zamboanga del Sur.

F1KD had a total budget of $6.7 million which provided basic nutrition for children in the communities and helped declare several barangays free of open defecation.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

Manalo said South Korea plans to further increase its ODA by 2025 for climate change and green-related projects.

TAGS:

No tags found for this post.
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.