Major Japanese trading firm Sumitomo Corp. has acquired a 34.9 percent stake in the operator of a light rail system in the Philippines' capital Manila, according to a filing made with the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

Sumitomo obtained the stake in Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. from Metro Pacific Investments Corp. for around 3 billion pesos ($59.3 million) the previous day, the Philippine investment holding company said in the filing.

Metro Pacific Light Rail has a majority ownership of Light Rail Manila Corp., which operates the Manila Light Rail Transit System Line 1 in Metro Manila and is currently engaged in a project to extend the line.

"MPIC, through MPLRC, is expected to benefit from the global rail expertise of Sumitomo Corporation while at the same time enabling MPIC to share its equity commitment for the Project with a strategic investor," the filing said.

LRT-1 spans 20.7 kilometers from Caloocan City to Paranaque City in the capital region. An 11.7-km extension line to Cavite, a province south of Metro Manila, is under construction and expected to go into operation next year.

==Kyodo

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