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Philippines looks to be Asia’s next logistics + manufacturing hub: The Philippines is looking to pour pledged US investments into its transport infrastructure, clean energy, and semiconductor supply chains through the Luzon Economic Corridor, Bloomberg reports, citing comments by Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The initiatives should enhance freight transport services, mobility, and access to key economic zones, positioning the country as a regional hub for agribusiness and logistics in Asia Pacific, Marcos said. The Philippines’ infrastructure program comprises 185 projects worth some USD 163 bn.
What is the Luzon Economic Corridor? The Luzon corridor includes three projects — the USD 868 mn Subic-Clark railway connecting subic bay freeport zone and the clark freeport and special economic zone in Luzon, the USD 174 mn runway at Clark International Airport, and a USD 152 mn food hub for boosting the local agricultural sector.
Zimbabwe + China Railways discussing railway revamp:Zimbabwe is in talks with China Railways Group to secure a USD 533 mn revamp project for Zimbabwe Railways (NRZ), Bloomberg reports. Zimbabwe and China have inked an MoU to study the feasibility of the project, which Zimbabwe hopes will match railway improvements in the neighboring countries of Mozambique and Zambia. The country’s railroad moves lithium, coal, chrome, and granite, with most mineral exports going to China. “It is our expectation that in the upcoming Forum for China and Africa taking place around August and September that the deal between the NRZ and China Rail will be announced,” Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said.
China Railways has history in the region: The company previously built a 1.9k km rail line that links Zambia with the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in the 1970s and recently constructed the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway in Ethiopia, Bloomberg explains.
Supply chain improvement has stalled over the last few months, Reuters reports, citing US NY Federal Reserve Bank’s supply availability indexes data. Supply availability indexes “indicate that supply availability had generally been improving since early 2023, but over the past couple of months, improvement has stalled,” the NY Fed said. The indexes look to gauge the extent of supply disruptions, determine whether availability is improving, and monitor inflationary pressures. The New York Fed described the current trend as “concerning,” noting that supply disruptions continue to affect many regional firms. This situation arises just as the Federal Reserve is anxious about the slow progress in reducing inflation to its 2% target.
