BEIJING: The Philippines said on Tuesday it was seeking Chinese investment in airports, roads, ports and railway projects worth $12 billion as the country tries to improve its creaky infrastructure.
Public works and highways minister Rogelio Singson -- part of a government delegation visiting China -- said Manila was drumming up investment for 25 projects, with 10 to be offered to foreign investors this year.
The government will seek funding for another 48 projects in the coming years.
"We are really falling behind in infrastructure investment," Singson told a news conference.
The government "investment roadshow" comes just two weeks after China executed three Filipino drug mules last month despite repeated pleas by the Philippine government for their sentences to be commuted.
Finance minister Cesar Purisima told reporters that the Philippines respected Chinese law.
"We have our own laws and we will leave that up to the courts," Purisima said, adding that the outlook for relations with China, the Philippines' third-largest trade partner, was "tremendous".
"We are bullish, we are open for business," he said.
During the four-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai, the Philippines delegation will meet senior officials including Vice Premier Wang Qishan as well as dozens of Chinese state-owned and private companies.
They also plan to tap investors in the Middle East, Europe and South Korea to meet the country's "massive" infrastructure requirements, said trade and industry minister Gregory Domingo.
"I can assure you that we will provide all the support necessary for you to invest in the Philippines," Domingo told a gathering of Chinese businesses, highlighting tax exemptions for qualified investors and other incentives.
Domingo said China invested nearly $100 million in the Philippines last year -- a fraction of China's $59 billion in overseas direct investment.
"There's a lot of potential," he said.
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