Philippines secures over 8.8 bln USD for COVID-19 response
The Philippines has so far secured a total of 8.83 billion USD in borrowings, loans and grant assistance for the government's COVID-19 response efforts from its development partners and the commercial markets, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported.
People wear mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the capital city of Manila, the Philippines. (Photo: Xinhua)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines has so far secured a total of 8.83 billion USDin borrowings, loans and grant assistance for the government's COVID-19 responseefforts from its development partners and the commercial markets, China’sXinhua News Agency reported.
The PhilippineDepartment of Finance (DOF) said on September 6 that of the total amount, 5.98billion USD is budget support financingfrom the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank, the French Development Agency and the Japan InternationalCooperation Agency.
A total of2.35 billion USD was sourced from the government's latest global bond offeringthat fetched its lowest ever coupon in the USD market, the DOF added.
The DOF saidthe remaining 496.36 million USD is from grant and loan financing from thePhilippines' development partners for various COVID-19 specific projects.
FinanceSecretary Carlos Dominguez said that total government borrowings for 2020 and2021 are projected to reach 3 trillion pesos (roughly 61.7 billion USD) tosupport priority expenditures necessary for the country's swift recovery fromthe COVID-19 crisis and public investments in infrastructure and socialservices.
Dominguezadded that borrowings are expected to settle at 2.3 trillion pesos (roughly47.3 billion USD) in 2022, with funding in favor of domestic sources.
He said thedebt-to-GDP ratio is projected to settle at 54 percent this year, 58 percent in2021, and 60 percent in 2022.
Dominguezadded that these projections are still lower when compared to the country'sall-time high debt level of 71.6 percent of GDP in 2004. Last year, thedebt-to-GDP ratio fell to a historic low at 39.6 percent.
COVID-19-triggeredlockdowns severely curtailed the country’s economic activities and muted itsrevenue-generation capacity, with total revenue collection reaching only 1.7trillion pesos (roughly 35 billion USD) in the first seven months of 2020, or 7percent lower than the revenue take in the same period last year, with 85percent of the revenues coming from tax collections./.
The Philippines is encouraging residents to walk and cycle during and even after the COVID-19 outbreak to address the limitation of public transportation services and encourage more active lifestyles, especially during lockdowns.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on August 21 said it has approved a 300 million U.S. dollars policy-based loan to support the Philippine government's efforts to implement reforms to expand poor Filipinos' access to financial services.
The Philippines has allocated 96.2 billion pesos (roughly 1.98 billion USD) to advance the country's railway system, including the 36-km Metro Manila subway, a lawmaker of that country said on August 31.
Deputy Director of the National Sports Administration at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Tran Duc Phan, met with Paul Vincent L.Uy, an official of the Philippine Embassy in Vietnam, on September 3 to discuss sports cooperation in the time to come.
In his article, Oscar Sanchez Serra highlighted President Ho Chi Minh’s founding of the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper on June 21, 1925, which marked the birth of Vietnam's revolutionary press rooted in a bold and far-sighted vision.
Several ASEAN meetings are scheduled to take place in Port Dickson this September, including the Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) for ASEAN Plus Three (APT), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the 15th ASEAN Maritime Forum, and the 13th Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum.
Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ordered the urgent implementation of a national policy to crack down on all forms of call centre scams, online fraud, and illegal gambling, which are now considered threats to national security.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and EAEU Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev jointly declared the conclusion of FTA talks on the sidelines of the 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), according to the statement.
The article stressed that throughout his revolutionary career, the founder of modern Vietnam consistently regarded the revolutionary press as a vital part of the Vietnamese Party’s and nation’s revolutionary struggle.
Pichai said the trade talks with the US are important and need to move forward professionally, without regard for any political changes in Thailand, believing that Thailand has clear principles, guidelines and procedures in place.
The tax adjustment supports the Malaysian Government’s strategy to reduce reliance on foreign food supply chains and to assist domestic farmers, a finance official has said.
The proposed venue is located in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok, featuring eight public sites, including Krungthep Aphiwat Central Terminal and several nearby parks.
Connectivity is expected to improve further with the completion of the fifth Laos–Thailand Friendship Bridge by the end of 2025, facilitating logistics and agricultural exports to Vietnam, Thailand, and China.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
In the today context of socio-economic development and growth, the professionalism of Vietnam’s revolutionary journalists continues to rise, guided by exemplary mastery of new information technologies and the modernisation of their founding principles to preserve the enduring values of revolutionary journalism.
Thai Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Vuttikrai Leewiraphan Thailand's formal proposal will be substantial enough for the US to consider further detailed negotiations. He hoped for a tariff rate not exceeding 10% and suggested that the US might extend the negotiation period if an agreement is not reached by the July 8 deadline.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture and the Association of Thai Silk & Culture Promotions, the event honors Her Majesty the Queen on her 47th birthday anniversary and promotes Thai craftsmanship on an international stage.
Prensa Latina's recent article on Vietnam’s assurance of smooth and effective transition to a leaner structure highlighted Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s latest directions on implementing 28 resolutions regarding the decentralisation and delegation of authority.
The lab focuses on four key thematic areas: energy transition and green innovation, sustainable agriculture, circular economy and sustainable cities, and nature-based solutions and biodiversity.
The key content of the document titled "Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Addressing the OOSCY Challenges" will be refined further in a seminar preceding the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur this October.
This follows Telegram’s serious failure to address the content that has been repeatedly reported to them, despite various efforts of negotiation and cooperation made by MCMC, it said.
People wear mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the capital city of Manila, the Philippines. (Photo: Xinhua)
