Foreign portfolio investments expanded 136 percent year-on-year to $ 1.579 billion for the first five months of the year from $ 667.44 million the same period in 2006. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that the total FX inflows were higher at $ 3.968 billion from $ 1.956 billion the year before while inflows reached $ 5.548 billion from $ 2.624 billion last May 2006. Hot money flows are invested in the stock market, peso-denominated government securities, mostly fixed rate treasury notes and money market instruments as well as peso bank deposits.

TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) — The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Corporate Bank will arrange a syndicated loan of US$ 2.7 billion for Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. and Marubeni Corp.’s joint purchase of three power plants in the Philippines, the Nikkei reported, without citing sources. The parties will sign an agreement today, the business daily said. A Philippine joint venture, established by Tepco and Marubeni, will use the loan to buy the Philippine subsidiary of US power firm Mirant Corp., which owns the rights to the three plants. Together, the plants are capable of generating 2.2 million kilowatts and account for 20 percent of the total power assets on the northern island of Luzon. JBIC will provide 60 percent of the funds, with Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho Corporate Bank each contributing 20 percent.

Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. is close to reaching agreements with several parties for the sale of copper from its Carmen mine in the central Cebu province, a company official said. "We’re discussing with three offtakers, including the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. It’s possible we might get several offtakers from the region," Atlas vice president Martin Buckingham told reporters on the sidelines of an international mining conference here. He did not give further details. Atlas previously said it was negotiating for offtake contracts with a number of companies including two Chinese firms, one Japanese and an Indian company. Atlas’ unit Carmen Copper Corp. had started preparations for the full rehabilitation of its copper mine in central Philippines and expects to begin commercial operations in about a year. Atlas recently signed a 0-million loan agreement with Deutsche Bank AG to fund the rehabilitation. Based on a previous feasibility study, the Carmen mine will produce over a 12-year period an average of 47,000 tons of copper and 41,000 ounces of gold annually.

Toyota Auto Parts Philippines Inc. (TAP), a unit of Toyota Motors Philippines Corporation (TMPC), forecast a 15 percent growth in exports this year to $ 630 million from about $ 542 million last year. TAP said that exports in the first quarter this year already reach $ 160 million from $ 134 million in the same first quarter in 2006. Last year’s total TAP auto parts exports was expected to have reached 6 million or about P26.8 billion following a strong demand for vehicles under the company’s Innovative Multi-Purpose Vehicle (IMV) project. (BCM)

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)—The Asian Development Bank sold C$ 300 million (US$ 283.3 million) in 10-year Maple bonds Wednesday as part of its regular fund-raising, according to a person familiar with the deal. Maple bonds are issues sold by foreign issuers in Canada. The Manila-based development bank sold the bond due June 15, 2017, at 99.835, the person said. The bond pays a coupon of 4.75 percent. RBC Capital Markets and TD Securities were in charge of the bond sale. Excluding the newly-sold Maple bond, the ADB has raised more than US$ 5 billion in 11 currencies through various transactions this year, including its new US dollar benchmark bond priced early this week, two public bond issues in Canadian dollars and British pounds and four local-currency bond issues in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore. ADB said it plans to raise between US$ 6 and US$ 8 billion from debt sales in 2007. All three major ratings agencies rate the ADB triple-A rating.