Companies from China’s Guangxi province have signed six agreements with local counterparts as they tap the strategic location of the Philippines as a gateway to Asean and the Belt and Road initiative of China.
The agreements covering a number of projects that involve port cooperation, hydropower engineering contracting, Nanning-Manila direct tourist charter flights as well as tourism strategic cooperation were formalized yesterday at the China (Guangxi)-Philippines Business Matching Seminar for Entrepreneurs at the Makati Shangri-La.
Nearly 140 participants from over 20 Guangxi enterprises and about 60 Philippine enterprises attended the seminar.
Francis Chua, chairman emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the value of all the transactions has yet to be quantified but one is a $550-million hydropower project in Benguet.
Chua said the deals would strengthen ties with Guangxi, which plays a crucial connectivity in the Belt and Road toward Europe.
Peng Qinghua, secretary of the Community Party of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Committee, said the province is pushing for direct shipment from Beibu Gulf to Manila, Davao and Cebu for both cruise and container as part of an agreement with the Philippine Ports Authority.
Peng added Guangxi is pushing for a joint promotion of Asean port cooperation network to reduce cost of trade.
Guangxi is also promoting a corridor that would link it to Singapore,givingAsean access to Europe to complete the Belt and Road.
“When completed, there would be morefrequent flow of people, commodities and capital in Asean including the Philippines,” said Peng, who also invited Filipino investors to participate at the China-Asean Expo in September in Guangxi to explore more businesses with Chinese counterparts.
Foremost of the agreements involves nickel ore trade using the Beibu port.
The strategic cooperation agreement of international logistics network nodes building, lateritic nickel ore procurement and freight routes was signed between Zhou Xiaoxi, president of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Port Group Co., Ltd., and Xu Zhenqiang, chairman of the board of the Philippine Carrascal Nickel Corp. (CNC).
The joint development of an international logistics network will ensure the long-term and stable supply of laterite nickel ore to China.
Under the agreement, CNC would supply no less than 1.5 million tons of laterite nickel ore that meet grade requirements each year.
Both parties agree to preferably choose Beibu Gulf Shipping Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of the Port Group, as the carrier of the lateritic nickel ore that CNC ships to China.
Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group Co., Ltd. operates and manages ports, large-scale, specialized and modern terminals with supporting inter-model logistics system, and is growing as an integrated and comprehensive port group along the Beibu Gulf.
CNC, a Philippine company engaged in the mining and export of nickel ore, mainly deals with exploiting and extracting laterite nickel ore, limonite and saprolite within 4,567 hectares of the Carrascal mineral production sharing agreement area located in Surigao Del Sur. These are exported to China to manufacture iron-nickel alloy and stainless steel.
CNC is also engaged in copper and gold mining at the Kalinga Balatoke mining area where its subsidiary CNC-Faratuk Minerals Co., Ltd. is located and the HigantengBato mining area in Compostela Valley where Boulder Mining Co., Ltd. is located.
The second agreement is between Shen Jian, general manager of China Energy Engineering Group Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Co., Ltd., and Larry Kim, chairman of the board of the Philippine CohecoBadeo Hydro Power Co., Ltd.
The $550-million project involves the KibunganBadeo 500 MW pumped storage hydropower project located in Kibungan City, Benguet.
The main buildings of the project include the 35-kilometer approach road, dam, upper reservoir dam, inlet, one-km pressure tunnel, 200-meter pressure steel pipe, factory building and the 37-km transmission line (230KV).
China Energy Engineering Group Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau is one of China’s biggest integrated construction enterprise connected to China Energy Engineering Group.
CohecoBadeo is a company primarily engaged in the projects of green energy development and is developing 500 MW pumped storage power station, with total investment of P31 billion.
A framework agreement for strategic cooperation on tourism was signed between Pang Wenda, Guangxi Tourism Development Group, and Ruben Tiu, chairman of JTKC Group of Companies of the Philippines and chairman of Discovery World Co.
Under the agreement, the two parties shall share resources to organize a number of prime tourism lines targeted at tourists.
The parties also agreed to strengthen the business cooperation of travel agencies by organizing the tourists of one country to travel and take a vacation in the other country.
Guangxi Tourism Development Group Co., Ltd. is a large-scale, state-owned enterprise established with total assets of 58.55 billion RMB by the end of 2016.
JTKC Group Company is a large-scale comprehensive enterprise in the Philippines which also operates a top resort and the Discovery Coast of Boracay Island.
The remaining agreements involve charter flights between Nanning and Manila. The project was facilitated by Guangxi Development and Reform Research Association and Department of Commerce of Guangxi.
Nanning Xi Yangyang International Travel Agency has reached an agreement with businessman Chen Xin as well as with FAB View Travel and Tours.
The China (Guangxi)-Philippines Business Matching Seminar waspart of the 21st “Century Maritime Silk Road.”
The Philippines is the fifth largest trade partner of Guangxi among Asean countries. It is also an active and constructive partner for Guangxi in enhancing maritime cooperation with Asean countries.