China pledged more to Phl but spent the least

China pledged more development financing to the Philippines than any other Southeast Asian country over the past decade.

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But the Philippines saw just a tiny fraction of that funding actually come through, making it among the lowest recipients of Beijing’s development financing in the region.

From 2015 to 2023, China committed $30.5 billion in official development finance — including grants, loans and other forms of assistance — to the Philippines. This represents about 20% of all its pledged aid to Southeast Asia, according to a new report by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute released Sunday, July 20.

Yet only $700 million was actually disbursed — less than one-twentieth of what was committed — with several big-ticket projects either losing the interest of Chinese investors or being later shifted to alternative sources of funding.

Outliers in the region

As a result, the Philippines trails behind most of its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of actual Chinese development financing received from 2015 to 2023, according to the annual report.

The study uses data that spans three administrations: those of Benigno Aquino III (2015), Rodrigo Duterte (2016 to half of 2022), and the first year of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (half of 2022 to 2023)

According to the database used for the report, the actual disbursements from China to Southeast Asian countries from 2015 to 2023 rank as follows:

China Development Finance Spending in Southeast Asia actual disbursements 2015-2023:

* Indonesia: $20.3B (33%)

* Laos: $9.6B (15%)

* Malaysia: $9.5B (15%)