ThomasLloyd's Portfolio of Biomass Projects Set to Benefit From a New Era of Chinese-Philippine Relations Following the State Visit of President Duterte

LONDON, October 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

From October 18 to 21, senior representatives of ThomasLloyd participated in the historic Philippine Presidential trade and diplomatic mission to China. The diplomatic summit and ceremonial signing of important trade and cooperation agreements in Beijing took place between Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, and Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines, in the presence of senior politicians and up to 400 businessmen.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161028/433686 )

'My state visit to China signalled a turning point in our shared history and showed that both countries are fully capable of working together for mutual beneficial cooperation even as we remain committed to settle disputes peacefully in full adherence of international law,' President Duterte said.

Both sides affirmed their partnership and declared a shared ambition to achieve sustainable development and inclusive growth that will benefit the people of both countries in the years ahead. Together, they committed to enhance economic relations in several priority sectors, such as infrastructure and energy, through the promotion of trade, investment and economic cooperation under the Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Bilateral Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation. Within the framework of the summit, eleven MoUs were signed, including one between ThomasLloyd and its Philippine and Chinese stakeholders in the biomass sector, for a total of USD 7.9 billion of commitments, which would create up to two million jobs in the Philippines. Today China is the second biggest trade partner of the Philippines, its 4th biggest export market, and largest supplier of imports. These agreements create extensive mutual market access and provide the basis for closer cooperation in the political and economic field.

As part of this historic agreement and ceremony, a commitment to the ThomasLloyd biomass projects, currently under construction in the Philippines and funded by ThomasLloyd SICAV-SIF-Cleantech Infrastructure Fund as the principal financial sponsor, was signed on behalf of ThomasLloyd by the Managing Directors and Regional CEOs Tony Coveney and Mike Airey, for Bronzeoak by President Arthur Aguilar and Senior Vice President Don Maria Y. Dia, and for Wuxi by Director Zhang Yun and General Manager Lu Yicheng. Further construction of the power plants South Negros BioPower Inc. and North Negros BioPower Inc., along with the soon to be completed plant San Carlos BioPower Inc., represent the continued successful cooperation between ThomasLloyd's European investors, Philippine developers and Chinese engineers. This cooperation already stands today as a template for business between the three communities.