MANILA (Reuters) – Private equity firm KKR & Co will operate and expand telecommunications towers in the Philippines, the U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday, as one of a number of deals in a $1 billion investment announced during a landmark trade mission. announced that it will invest $400 million in .
In a statement after a two-day trade and investment mission led by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, KKR announced that KKR will develop and acquire approximately 2,000 communications towers to support digital connectivity across the Philippines.
In 2022, a unit of KKR acquired 3,529 telecommunications towers in a sale-and-leaseback agreement with Globe Telecom Corp. of the Philippines for P45 billion ($814.73 million). A unit of KKR also purchased 1,012 communication towers from PLDT for more than P12.1 billion.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced more than $1 billion in U.S. investments in the Philippines during a trade mission attended by executives from 22 companies, including United Airlines, Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Visa and Microsoft.
Maryland startup Ally Power announced it has signed a more than $400 million contract with power distribution company Manila Electric Company to build hydrogen and electric refueling stations.
According to the Department of Commerce, Microsoft is working with the Central Bank of the Philippines and the Department of Budget and Trade to identify how its AI products can improve productivity in government agencies.
The United States is aiming to deepen defense and economic ties with the Philippines against the backdrop of China's increasing aggressiveness in the South China Sea.
(1 dollar = 55.2330 Philippine Pesos)
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Stephen Coates)
