Philippines’ Dominguez to talk with China on $15 billion deals

Manila: Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez will meet with key Chinese officials in a two-day visit to discuss details for $15 billion worth of economic deals and investment.
China committed the deals to the Philippines during President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to Beijing in October.
Aside from Dominguez, the delegation includes the secretaries of budget, transportation, public works and socio-economic planning, the Philippine government said in a statement. They will meet with China Vice Premier Wang Yang, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Xu Shaoshi and officials of China Investment Corp. The meetings will be held on Jan. 23 and 24.
Duterte is courting China for investment and help in the southeast Asian nation to build infrastructure from road to ports to sustain growth in one of the region’s fastest-growing economies. Duterte, who wants to spend 8 trillion pesos ($160 billion) on infrastructure in his six-year term through June 2022, raised $24 billion worth of funding and investment pledges from his four-day visit to China in October, including $9 billion of soft loans.