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

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

expansion in the Philippines, the U.S. Department of Commerce

said on Wednesday, among a slew of deals in a $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

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

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

In 2022, a unit of KKR acquired 3,529 telecoms towers for 45

billion pesos ($814.73 million) in a sale and leaseback deal

with Philippines' Globe Telecom Inc. The KKR unit bought another

1,012 towers for over 12.1 billion pesos from PLDT Inc.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced American investments

of more than $1 billion in the Philippines during the trade

mission that included executives from 22 companies including

United Airlines, Alphabet's Google, Visa

, and Microsoft ( MSFT ).

Ally Power, a Maryland startup, announced a more than $400

million agreement with a unit of power distributor Manila

Electric Co to build a hydrogen and electric refueling station.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) is working with the Philippine central bank and

the ministries of budget and trade to identify how its AI

products can boost the agencies' productivity, the commerce

department said.

The United States seeks to deepen defence and economic ties

with the Philippines, on the backdrop of a more aggressive China

in the South China Sea.

($1 = 55.2330 Philippine pesos)