Improving global economy seen to bode well for Philippine growth
The Philippine economy is seen to continue on its record-breaking upward trend and become the “standout” economy in Southeast Asia in 2013 as the economies affected by a global recession improve, world renowned debt watcher Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) and British banking giant Standard Chartered Bank said in separate reports recently.
S&P’s said it projects Philippine growth to hit 5.9 percent this year as the recession in Europe and America eases.
"For the Asia-Pacific region, which has endured half a decade of leaden skies hanging over the global economy, some rays of sunshine could burst through in 2013," the debt watcher said in a report.
“External risks to the region have abated with the European recession easing. The United States is also expected to grow faster despite spending cuts, while China seems to have avoided a hard landing,”
It noted that the lower growth “than the better-than-expected 6.6% notched in 2012” was attributed to the dip in base effects.”
S&P’s also pointed out that more investments in tourism and the business process outsourcing industries have spurred economic growth to become more broad-based.
"These structural changes, combined with increased fiscal space for higher public infrastructure investment, are putting the Philippine economy on a higher growth trajectory,"
The country holds a BB+ credit rating with S&P, one notch below investment grade. It also bagged a positive outlook last December, indicating that an upgrade could be announced over the next 12 to 18 months.
For its part, the Standard Chartered Bank said that a survey of more than 900 investors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently saw the Philippines emerge as the frontrunner among other key cities in the region.
It further said that the “Philippines was the standout country in terms of the strength of on-the-ground sentiment…as the Philippines is expected to see stronger investment growth this year, sustaining the strong momentum from 2012."
The survey showed that 74 percent of investor-respondents in Manila expect to see better business prospects in 2013 compared to the year before, dwarfing scores in Jakarta (46%), Bangkok (44%), Singapore (44%) and Kuala Lumpur (41%).
The survey also found that investors in Manila are most worried about the European, American and Chinese markets this year. No one cited the Philippines as a concern. In comparison, 47% of investors in Kuala Lumpur said their own country worried them, followed by 43% in Singapore, 35% in Jakarta and 19% in Bangkok.
The peso is expected to get stronger, with 86% of investors in Manila saying they expect to see their currency appreciating against the dollar in 2013. Only 67% of investors in Bangkok, 52% in Kuala Lumpur, 50% in Singapore and 35% in Jakarta thought the same.
"We are optimistic that the Philippines will outperform the region and enjoy another year of strong growth momentum in 2013," Standard Chartered Bank said.
With these developments, the Philippines now has the long-awaited chance to achieve “tiger” status during President Benigno S. Aquino III’s term as his administration has been successful in laying down the foundations for inclusive growth.
All these, coupled with the positive shift in the engines of the world economy (the US, Japan, and Europe) will definitely boost the country’s economy to higher levels of growth.
The Philippine economy is seen to continue on its record-breaking upward trend and become the “standout” economy in Southeast Asia in 2013 as the economies affected by a global recession improve, world renowned debt watcher Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) and British banking giant Standard Chartered Bank said in separate reports recently.
S&P’s said it projects Philippine growth to hit 5.9 percent this year as the recession in Europe and America eases.
"For the Asia-Pacific region, which has endured half a decade of leaden skies hanging over the global economy, some rays of sunshine could burst through in 2013," the debt watcher said in a report.
“External risks to the region have abated with the European recession easing. The United States is also expected to grow faster despite spending cuts, while China seems to have avoided a hard landing,”
It noted that the lower growth “than the better-than-expected 6.6% notched in 2012” was attributed to the dip in base effects.”
S&P’s also pointed out that more investments in tourism and the business process outsourcing industries have spurred economic growth to become more broad-based.
"These structural changes, combined with increased fiscal space for higher public infrastructure investment, are putting the Philippine economy on a higher growth trajectory,"
The country holds a BB+ credit rating with S&P, one notch below investment grade. It also bagged a positive outlook last December, indicating that an upgrade could be announced over the next 12 to 18 months.
For its part, the Standard Chartered Bank said that a survey of more than 900 investors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations recently saw the Philippines emerge as the frontrunner among other key cities in the region.
It further said that the “Philippines was the standout country in terms of the strength of on-the-ground sentiment…as the Philippines is expected to see stronger investment growth this year, sustaining the strong momentum from 2012."
The survey showed that 74 percent of investor-respondents in Manila expect to see better business prospects in 2013 compared to the year before, dwarfing scores in Jakarta (46%), Bangkok (44%), Singapore (44%) and Kuala Lumpur (41%).
The survey also found that investors in Manila are most worried about the European, American and Chinese markets this year. No one cited the Philippines as a concern. In comparison, 47% of investors in Kuala Lumpur said their own country worried them, followed by 43% in Singapore, 35% in Jakarta and 19% in Bangkok.
The peso is expected to get stronger, with 86% of investors in Manila saying they expect to see their currency appreciating against the dollar in 2013. Only 67% of investors in Bangkok, 52% in Kuala Lumpur, 50% in Singapore and 35% in Jakarta thought the same.
"We are optimistic that the Philippines will outperform the region and enjoy another year of strong growth momentum in 2013," Standard Chartered Bank said.
With these developments, the Philippines now has the long-awaited chance to achieve “tiger” status during President Benigno S. Aquino III’s term as his administration has been successful in laying down the foundations for inclusive growth.
All these, coupled with the positive shift in the engines of the world economy (the US, Japan, and Europe) will definitely boost the country’s economy to higher levels of growth.
“The Philippines is no longer the sick man of East Asia, but the rising tiger. There is macroeconomic stability, and the fiscal situation of the government is sound and improving. The fight against corruption is being waged with determination and it is paying off. Transparency is improving everywhere in the Philippines,” Motoo Konishi, WB country director for the Philippines, said at the closing of the 2013 Philippine Development Forum at the Marco Polo Hotel here.
Konishi said foreign funding agencies are convinced of the government’s sincere commitment to good governance and that such sincerity has attracted investments and paved the way for inclusive growth in the coming years.
“The objective of putting the country irreversibly onto a path of inclusive growth – growth that creates jobs and reduces poverty is within reach,” the WB official said. “We have noted the hard-fought battles over key reforms. We have seen the improvements in the budget: better prioritization, better execution, better monitoring and more transparency,” he pointed out.
“We welcome the scaling up of expenditures on health, education and social protection. We are seeing infrastructure spending going up and becoming more strategic and efficient,” Konishi added.
Speaking in the same forum, President Aquino voiced his wish for stronger partnership between the country and funding institutions.
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“It is my hope that the partnerships that have been forged here, together with the practices of collaboration and of open dialogue, extend beyond this day - that you continue to embody the spirit of cooperation and service, and become an inspiration to others,” Aquino said in a speech before some 300 delegates to the forum.
“In this way, we will be able to realize fully the commitments we made to each other and the Filipino people, and walk along the straight path together to the fulfillment of our dreams for the Philippines,” he said.
He said the country is now in a better position to utilize official development assistance from foreign development partners.
“The continued presence of the country’s development partners is a sign of confidence. The Philippines Development Forum represents the very best of the ideals behind public-private partnerships,” he said.
The President said that through the PDF, “we affirm the necessity of positive participation: not merely to point out the problems, but more importantly, to become part of the solution.”
“When different sectors bring their areas of expertise to the table, when we set aside pettiness and parochialism in favor of service - that is when we can put the puzzle pieces together and build an even stronger Philippines,” Aquino said.
“Today, change is tangible - from the thousands of new classrooms, to the new businesses setting up shop, to the tourists who continue to flock our shores. But this is only the tip of the iceberg: a sea change is also taking place in our mindsets. Instead of knee-jerk solutions, we are thinking things through to find the best possible answers,” he said. “Instead of apathy, a strong demand for justice. Instead of passivity, a newfound determination and optimism that positive change can be won for the country. Our people have seen how we all have worked to empower them: they know what true dedication to service can achieve - and they will demand nothing less in the future.”
Aquino said, “2016 represents a deadline of which I must always be mindful: the time I will have to give up the privilege of serving my country as its president.”
Konishi said foreign funding agencies are convinced of the government’s sincere commitment to good governance and that such sincerity has attracted investments and paved the way for inclusive growth in the coming years.
“The objective of putting the country irreversibly onto a path of inclusive growth – growth that creates jobs and reduces poverty is within reach,” the WB official said. “We have noted the hard-fought battles over key reforms. We have seen the improvements in the budget: better prioritization, better execution, better monitoring and more transparency,” he pointed out.
“We welcome the scaling up of expenditures on health, education and social protection. We are seeing infrastructure spending going up and becoming more strategic and efficient,” Konishi added.
Speaking in the same forum, President Aquino voiced his wish for stronger partnership between the country and funding institutions.
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
“It is my hope that the partnerships that have been forged here, together with the practices of collaboration and of open dialogue, extend beyond this day - that you continue to embody the spirit of cooperation and service, and become an inspiration to others,” Aquino said in a speech before some 300 delegates to the forum.
“In this way, we will be able to realize fully the commitments we made to each other and the Filipino people, and walk along the straight path together to the fulfillment of our dreams for the Philippines,” he said.
He said the country is now in a better position to utilize official development assistance from foreign development partners.
“The continued presence of the country’s development partners is a sign of confidence. The Philippines Development Forum represents the very best of the ideals behind public-private partnerships,” he said.
The President said that through the PDF, “we affirm the necessity of positive participation: not merely to point out the problems, but more importantly, to become part of the solution.”
“When different sectors bring their areas of expertise to the table, when we set aside pettiness and parochialism in favor of service - that is when we can put the puzzle pieces together and build an even stronger Philippines,” Aquino said.
“Today, change is tangible - from the thousands of new classrooms, to the new businesses setting up shop, to the tourists who continue to flock our shores. But this is only the tip of the iceberg: a sea change is also taking place in our mindsets. Instead of knee-jerk solutions, we are thinking things through to find the best possible answers,” he said. “Instead of apathy, a strong demand for justice. Instead of passivity, a newfound determination and optimism that positive change can be won for the country. Our people have seen how we all have worked to empower them: they know what true dedication to service can achieve - and they will demand nothing less in the future.”
Aquino said, “2016 represents a deadline of which I must always be mindful: the time I will have to give up the privilege of serving my country as its president.”