British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils said the UK and the Philippines are close to finalizing a government-to-government memorandum of understanding (MOU) within the next three months that would allow the Philippines to access the £5 billion UK Financing Framework Partnership.
“We’re hopeful this will be concluded soon,” Beaufils said, noting that while the funding is already in place, current procurement hurdles are holding up access.
Once the G2G agreement is finalized, it will be much easier to tap into the £5 billion, Beaufils said in a forum in Makati Wednesday night.
The financing, offered through the UK’s export credit agency, is designed to support both public and private sector projects that incorporate British products or expertise.
“The interesting part is, only 20 percent of the project needs to be British content for us to finance up to 100 percent. So even if the rest of the project involves Danish, Swedish, or American partners, we can still provide full financing,” Beaufils said.
She said the UK is prepared to fully support British exports to the Philippines and projects that would spur infrastructure development, whether with major or minimal British participation.
“The £5 billion can take the form of guarantees, support for loans from banks or other flexible arrangements to enable the Philippines to essentially buy British products,” she said.
The fund, recently increased from £4 billion, is expected to boost major infrastructure developments in the Philippines including bridges, ports, railroads and offshore wind facilities—areas where the UK has considerable experience.
The British government has also been active in direct investments through its development finance institutions.
“These institutions have already invested significantly in renewable energy-solar, hydro, and waste-to-energy—through equity and complementary technical assistance,” she said.
A UK rail trade delegation is also expected to visit the country soon, in support of the growing momentum in UK-Philippine infrastructure collaboration.
