PRIVATE equity firm KKR & Co will invest US$400 million in telecoms tower operations and expansion in the Philippines, the United States Department of Commerce said on Wednesday (Mar 13), among a slew of deals in a US$1 billion investment announced in a landmark trade mission.

KKR will develop and acquire roughly 2,000 telecoms towers to support digital connectivity across the Philippines, the commerce department said following a two-day trade and investment mission led by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

In 2022, a unit of KKR acquired 3,529 telecoms towers for 45 billion pesos (S$1 billion) in a sale and leaseback deal with Philippines’ Globe Telecom. The KKR unit bought another 1,012 towers for over 12.1 billion pesos from PLDT.

The US Commerce Department announced American investments of more than US$1 billion in the Philippines during the trade mission that included executives from 22 companies including United Airlines, Alphabet’s Google, Visa, and Microsoft.

Ally Power, a Maryland startup, announced a more than US$400 million agreement with a unit of power distributor Manila Electric to build a hydrogen and electric refuelling station.

Microsoft is working with the Philippine central bank and the ministries of budget and trade to identify how its artificial intelligence products can boost the agencies’ productivity, the commerce department said.

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The US seeks to deepen defence and economic ties with the Philippines, on the backdrop of a more aggressive China in the South China Sea. REUTERS