RP hopes to get Miyazawa fund by early 1999

The Philippine Star
Friday, December 18, 1998
Marianne Go

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- The Philippines hopes to receive a share of Japan's $30-billion Miyazawa fund for Asia early next year,  President Estrada said Wednesday.

Japan made several aid pledges at this week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, including 600 billion yen ($5.1 billion) in low-interest loans for the entire region, and $1.85 billion in loans for Thailand and up to 117 billion yen ($1 billion) in loans for Malaysia from the Miyazawa fund.

But no specific aid pledges were announced for the Philippines.

“We will hopefully get it in the early part of next year,” Estrada told a news conference after the summit. “Our economic managers have just submitted their projects.”

Mr. Estrada declined to comment on how much he expected Japan to give the Philippines.

Japanese officials have said the Philippines’ proposal for spending the Miyazawa funds was less complete than those for Thailand and Malaysia. The Philippines has asked for some $7.9 billion from the fund, according to press reports.

The Philippines has said it hopes to raise up to $2 billion from three bond offerings in January using guarantees from the Miyazawa fund.

Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa announced the $30-billion fund in October for six Asian countries — Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea.

On Wednesday, Japan invited Vietnam to apply as well.

Asked whether he was disappointed that Thailand and Malaysia had been pledged loans ahead of the Philippines, Mr. Estrada said “Thailand and Malaysia are more affected with the crisis than the Philippines, so it’s only right that they get funding."

He said he had no knowledge of government plans to use some of the Miyazawa fund to inject capital into troubled national carrier Philippine Airlines, as news reports have suggested.

No formal request yet for PAL bailout fund

The government has not yet made formal request to the Japan Export-Import Bank (Jeximbank) for the possible use of the Miyazawa Fund to help rehabilitate Philippine Airlines (PAL).

Japanese government sources revealed yesterday that the Department of Finance has not made an official request yet on the possible infusion of the Miyazawa Fund into PAL. They said that even if an official request is submitted, the Jeximbank would still have to conduct "intensive discussions on the specific purpose of the use of the fund.”

It is thus unlikely, sources indicated, that the Philippine government would have official confirmation from the Japanese government and the Jeximbank by this year that it is amenable to allowing the use of the Miyazawa fund for PAL.

Sources admitted that there were informal discussions on the use of the Fund for PAL.@