ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Banking & Finance devider Philippines, China-led AIIB explore digitalization, energy project loans to boost economy

Philippines, China-led AIIB explore digitalization, energy project loans to boost economy

Published May 22, 2026 10:14 am

The Philippine government and the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are exploring partnerships in digitalization and energy aimed at improving the ease of doing business and accelerating infrastructure development to support economic growth.

In a statement on Friday, May 22, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go raised two priority areas during a recent meeting with AIIB officials: enhancing digitalization and reducing energy costs.

“Two of the major issues in the ease of doing business are red tape and high energy costs. If there’s a way for us to work on these, then we can significantly enhance public service delivery and improve our investment environment which will help us grow the economy,” Go said.

According to the DOF, Go underscored the need to improve government processes and reduce bureaucratic delays through digitalization reforms, which he said would deliver more sustainable and long-term benefits for the country.

The DOF chief also pushed for long-term solutions to make electricity more affordable and reliable for households, businesses, and investors.

The DOF noted that the AIIB’s expertise in renewable energy (RE) projects, including solar, wind, and hydro developments, could help the Philippines transition toward more sustainable energy sources and lower electricity costs over the long term.

Visiting AIIB president Zou Jiayi reaffirmed the China-led lender’s commitment to supporting the Philippines through financing and technical assistance tailored to the country’s development priorities.

“We are here to listen and understand how we can support your priorities for the Philippines,” the DOF quoted Zou as saying.

The AIIB also expressed interest in supporting water management and governance projects, emphasizing the need for sustainable investment in critical infrastructure. The multilateral lender also said it could provide non-sovereign financing support for private sector projects, according to the DOF.

Go, for his part, stressed the importance of completing ongoing infrastructure projects on time so Filipinos could benefit from them immediately.

To recall, Go said last February that the Philippines would return to tapping AIIB financing after securing two project loans in 2024.

The DOF chief disclosed that he met with AIIB representatives last Feb. 26, noting that the lender was “looking at two projects for 2026 in particular.”

One of the projects under consideration is the about $500-million Luzon Digital Connectivity Project, which will be implemented by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The AIIB is also studying possible funding for the $150-million Metro Manila Sponge City Project, which aims to absorb and retain floodwaters during prolonged rainfall in the capital region.

Go added that this was on top of another list of five to six projects. He described the Philippines’ partnership with the AIIB as robust.

Before 2024 ended, the AIIB approved $232.18 million in loans to support the Marcos Jr. administration’s ambitious “Build Better More” (BBM) infrastructure program.

As Manila Bulletin earlier reported, the AIIB had greenlit $188.18 million in counterpart financing for the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network (LLRN) Phase 1 Project, while $44 million went to the Facility for Accelerating Studies for Infrastructure (FAST-Infra) Project.

Related Tags

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Department of Finance (DOF) Frederick D. Go
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.