PHILIPPINES: Approval by the International Monetary Fund...

PHILIPPINES: Approval by the International Monetary Fund of a $900-million loan package for the Philippines clears the way for the heavily indebted country to get billions of dollars in further help. The country’s major aid donors meet in Hong Kong next week, and the Philippines will also approach commercial banks and official lenders for help to reduce the country’s $28-billion foreign debt, Finance Secretary Jesus Estanislao said last week. The donors, headed by the United States, Japan and the World Bank, are expected to pledge $2.5 billion to $2.9 billion in further assistance to underpin democracy in the Philippines, finance department officials said.