State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines signed a ¥4.9-billion loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to fund agribusiness investments in conflict areas in Mindanao, the Finance Department said Tuesday.
The loan will finance a five-year project that aims to jumpstart agribusiness investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and other conflict-affected areas in the South.
LandBank president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura and Jica chief representative to the Philippines Susumu Ito signed the agreement on the loan equivalent to about P1.76 billion.
President Rodrigo Duterte and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe witnessed Thursday the signing of the loan agreement in Malacañang. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III signed the guarantee letter for the deal.
“The HARVEST project is seen to help create an enabling investment environment in the ARMM and other conflict-affected areas in Southern Philippines to help rev up the economy and raise incomes in these communities,” Dominguez said.
HARVEST is the acronym for Harnessing Agribusiness Opportunities through Robust and Vibrant Entrepreneurship Supportive of Peaceful Transformation Project.
The loan deal was among the agreements signed between Manila and Tokyo during Abe’s two-day state visit to the Philippines.
The Philippines was Abe’s first stop in a four-nation trip that included Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
He is the first head of government to officially visit the Philippines under the Duterte administration.
The Y4.93-billion loan from Jica will mature in 25 years, inclusive of a seven-year grace period with an interest rate of 1.4 percent, Finance said.
Jica also plans to provide a technical grant of $6 million (P290 million) to support the capacity building of eligible HARVEST beneficiaries and LandBank’s project management.