MANILA, March 13 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR &

Co ( KKR ) will invest $400 million in telecoms tower operations in the

Philippines, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.

KKR will develop and acquire roughly 2,000 telecoms towers

to support digital connectivity across the Philippines, the

department said in a statement following a two-day trade and

investment mission led by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.