The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a general agreement for establishing a credit line (a facility based on untied loans) in the amount of up to USD50 million (of which JBIC’s portion is USD25 million) with BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), a Philippine entity. The credit line is co-financed with Japanese private financial institutions, with JBIC providing a partial guarantee for the co-financed portion.

The credit line is intended to provide, under the GREEN operations, the necessary funds for environment-related projects which contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with a focus on renewable energy projects in the Philippines. This will be the first time for JBIC to provide GREEN finance to the Philippines.

JBIC and BDO have been building a cooperative relationship, such as signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2013 for the development and the strengthening of frameworks to support business expansion into the Philippines by Japanese mid-tier enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through Japanese regional financial institutions. This credit line is intended to further strengthen such partnership between the two organizations, with a target on the environmental sector.

As Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to support global environmental conservation efforts in cooperation with local banks, by drawing on its various financial facilities and schemes for structuring projects, and performing its risk-assuming functions.