A state-owned European credit insurance group and Belgian Export Credit Agency has expressed interest in facilitating investments with the Philippines, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
In a statement over the weekend, the DOF said DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno met with Credendo on October 27 following the inaugural Global Gateway Forum in Brussels, Belgium.
Dirk Terweduwe, chairman and chief executive officer of Credendo, expressed the company’s interest in facilitating investments between Belgium and the Philippines.
Terweduwe also shared Credendo’s risk outlook on the Philippines is stable, noting that the low external debt, adequate liquidity and continued prudent government policies are supportive buffers in an uncertain climate.
Credendo, headquartered in Brussels, provides customized options for insurance, reinsurance, guarantees, surety and financing related to domestic and international trade transactions or investments abroad.
It protects companies, banks and insurance undertakings against credit and political risks, and facilitates the financing of export transactions.
Credendo has supported projects in the Philippines such as Turbulent Micro Hydro’s demonstration site in Davao Oriental.
Earlier, the DOF said Diokno also met with Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) CEO Luuk Zonneveld to discuss opportunities to finance projects in the Philippines that drive sustainable development, particularly gender equality, climate action and decent work.
BIO is a Belgian development finance institution that mobilizes private investments in developing and emerging economies to enable them to gain access to growth and sustainable development within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It invests in entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises funds, microfinance and other financial institutions, and renewable energy and other infrastructure projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The Philippine delegation also discussed co-investment opportunities in Philippine public-private partnerships, particularly in infrastructure and renewable energy, with the Federal Holding and Investment Company (La Société Fédérale de Participations et d’Investissement or SFPIM), Belgium’s sovereign wealth fund.
Koenraad Van Loo, CEO of SFPIM, shared that they are keen to visit the Philippines to explore partnerships in their priority sectors: finance, aeronautics, health, energy and utilities, transport and mobility and impact investing.
He also expressed interest in learning more about the Maharlika Investment Fund once operational, the DOF said
SFPIM preserves the long-term stability of the Belgian economy by contributing to the anchoring of strategic assets through “smart capital solutions” for both promising and established companies.