Economy

by David Roman, Bloomberg, May 5, 2017 India and the Philippines are likely to post Asia’s fastest economic growth rates in coming years as their working-age population keeps expanding through 2020, in contrast with shrinking workforces across North Asia, Nomura Holdings Inc. estimates show.

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By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star), May 5, 2017 MANILA, Philippines – Metro Manila’s economic growth quickened to 7.5 percent in 2016 from 6.7 percent the previous year, powered by the strong performance of the services sector, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

By: Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Apr 13, 2017 The Philippine economy is seen sustaining its robust growth in the medium term but London-based economic research firm Capital Economics red-flagged risks from political uncertainty.

Philippine Daily Inquirer, Apr 11, 2017 Economic issues such as higher pay, inflation and job creation were the Filipinos’ most urgent national concerns in March, results of a Pulse Asia survey showed.

By: Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Apr 07, 2017 The economy expanded by a higher 6.9 percent last year, the government said Thursday, but rising prices of consumer goods pose risk to robust demand, such that the Asian Development Bank sees the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growing by a slightly slower 6.4…

by Janine Marie D. Soliman, Businessworld, Apr 7, 2017 PHILIPPINE gross domestic product (GDP) growth will likely ease this year — the only Southeast Asian economy that will do so from 2016 — in the face of external headwinds, but the country will still outperform many in Asia and most regional averages, according to the…

By Karl Lester M Yap, Bloomberg, Mar 2, 2017 Fast-growing emerging economies in Asia are grappling with the conundrum that a boom brings: hordes of villagers flocking to cities only for many of them to end up living in slums.

by Nick Bunker, Policy Analyst, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Jan 31, 2017 The world’s population is getting older. The share of the global population that is more than 50 years old is becoming larger and larger, presenting several economic challenges, the most troubling being the possibility of much slower economic growth. Several economists have…

Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Businessworld, Jan. 30, 2017 THE PHILIPPINES is among economies in Asia most vulnerable to abrupt policy shifts in the United States, Nomura Global Research said in a Jan. 27 report, saying such impact — in terms of geopolitics, trade and immigration — could weigh on the country’s growth prospects.

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Businessworld, Jan. 28, 2017 PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte’s shift to a “multilateral” foreign policy and the United States’ pullout from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) arrangement that excludes the Philippines are expected to help boost the latter’s trade and investments, according to analytical notes released on Friday.

By Mark T. Amoguis with Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Businessworld, Jan. 27, 2017 Researcher THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY grew at a three-year high in 2016, closing the period near the upper end of the official target range and providing impetus to meet 2017’s higher goal.

By: Ben O. de Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Jan. 14, 2017 Although growth is projected to be sustained in the next six years, London-based consultancy firm Capital Economics sees politics as the “main” risk to the Philippine economy.

BY MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO, TMT, Manila Times, JANUARY 11, 2017 Reforms seen supporting PH economy for the medium term Ongoing reform in the Philippines is likely to boost the country’s medium-term economic growth, Moody’s Investors Service said, but it warned that domestic political risk, though low, is becoming more unpredictable and could disrupt progress for…

By Roy Stephen C. Canivel, Businessworld, January 09, 2017 THE COUNTRY will just have to “take” the fallout from President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s bloody war on crime, even if it means losing a perk that grants zero tariff on over 6,000 Philippine products sold to European Union (EU) markets, the heads of the Trade department…

By: Ben O. de Vera – @inquirerdotnet, Philippine Daily Inquirer / January 06, 2017 Pushing through with proposals to slap a two-year ban on farm land conversion as well as hiking the Social Security System’s (SSS) pension benefits without raising members’ contributions will “undermine” the economic growth momentum that the country currently enjoys, a high-ranking…

By: Ben O. de Vera , Philippine Daily Inquirer, Dec. 16, 2016 The World Bank has raised its growth forecasts for the Philippines for this year and the next two years, citing sustained high consumer and investor confidence in the near term.

Concerns over the direction of the Duterte administration’s foreign policy and reforms and the weak peso outweigh expectations of a Christmas boost, according to the Q4 Business Expectations Survey By Rappler.com, Nov 25, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Despite stronger than expected 3rd quarter economic growth, businesses have dampened expectations for the final quarter of the…

by Siegfrid Alegado, Cecilia Yap, November 17, 2016, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-17/philippine-growth-quickens-to-7-1-on-duterte-s-spending-spree Nation seen as among fastest-expanding in the world until 2018 Outsourcing, remittances help guard against global risks The Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in three years last quarter, underscoring the nation’s resilience to global risks as investment surged and consumers spent more. Stocks gained.

The survey shows optimism of Philippine businesses stood at 84% in the 3rd quarter of the year, way above the average of 42% By Rappler.com, Oct 31, 2016 9:00 PM MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines emerged as the 3rd most optimistic economy among 37 countries driven by strong prospects in revenues, exports, and the Association…

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), October 31, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Proposed labor policies, which include wage adjustments and the termination of the end-of-contract (endo) work arrangement, are seen to drag down the country’s already slumping export growth, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) said.

By ANGELA CELIS, Malaya, October 19, 2016 Moody’s Investors Service yesterday said the country’s existing investment grade rating (Baa2) reflects sound economic and fiscal fundamentals but noted that political risks have become “less predictable.”

HSBC Philippines’ chief sees greater UK investor interest in the country while the head of the Philippines’ oldest conglomerate sees the ASEAN market and its growing middle class pulling in more foreign investors By Chris Schnabel, Sep 19, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Consistent economic growth, a young and increasingly moneyed population, and the ASEAN economic…

By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star), September 13, 2016 The Philippines is expected to have the fastest growth for the second year in a row among the five major economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-5) in 2017. File photo MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is expected to have the fastest growth for…

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), July 6, 2016 MANILA, Philippines – Growth targets and other macroeconomic assumptions were slashed yesterday as the new administration opted to be “conservative” despite planned aggressive spending focused on infrastructure. Gross domestic product (GDP), the sum of all products and services created, is targeted to rise between six and…

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), June 30, 2016, http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/06/30/1597897/philippiness-human-capital-index-ranking-slips MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has slipped three notches in this year’s global report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) measuring countries’ ability to make the most of their populations’ economic potential.

LIANNA BRINDED, JUN. 30, 2016, http://www.businessinsider.sg/social-progress-index-country-ranking-of-best-quality-of-life-versus-gdp-2016-6/?linkId=26233334?r=US&IR=T#xEL0bcPZyAc5FsJA.97 A country having vast economic wealth does not necessarily guarantee a greater quality of life for its citizens, according to data from the latest Social Progress Index (SPI).

By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star), June 22, 2016, http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/06/22/1595445/businessmens-wish-list-tax-cuts-national-id DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Lower income and corporate taxes. A national identification system. Automation of business permit processing, and faster broadband and phone services.

By: Ben O. de Vera @BenArnolddeVera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 22nd, 2016, http://business.inquirer.net/211273/dont-try-to-corrupt-us#ixzz4D2o7GWFC DAVAO CITY, Philippines—If you don’t want us to be corrupt, you should do your part and not attempt to corrupt us. This was the message of the economic managers of the incoming Duterte administration to the country’s business leaders at the end…

By Noah Smith, June 22, 2016, http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-06-22/the-myth-of-austerity-and-growth Greg Mankiw, a Harvard economist and a respected voice in economic policy-making, recently wrote a New York Times article discussing five possible explanations for slow growth in rich countries. The final possibility he discusses is one that I haven’t seen much in recent years — the notion that…