THE Philippines is expected to post the fastest growth rate in Southeast Asia this year, with a projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth that is higher than even China’s, a regional economic research organization said yesterday.
The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said it sees the Philippines growing 6.2 percent this year, the fastest in Southeast Asia.
The projected Philippine economic expansion is faster than even China’s, which is seen growing 5.5 percent this year.
This is based on AMRO’s revised forecast for ASEAN+3, which includes not just the 10 member nations of ASEAN but China, Japan and South Korea as well.
AMRO’s earlier forecast released last April had Vietnam growing 6.8 percent, but the organization downgraded this to 4.4 percent in its latest report this month.
“[The] Philippines did very well in terms of sustaining its growth. I think that’s partly because the structured economy is quite different from other ASEAN economies,” said AMRO chief economist Hoe Ee Khor.
The Philippine economy is more service-driven than manufacturing-based, Khor said. This is why the country will expand further due to the boom in the services sector after the pandemic.
The World Bank earlier noted that the Philippines outperformed its peers in the region by growing 6.4 percent in the first quarter.
Vietnam, meanwhile, was hit by a global slowdown in the demand for its manufactured exports.
Philippine economic managers are projecting a 6 to 7 percent growth rate for the country this year.
The ASEAN+3 region is expected to grow by 4.6 percent this year as domestic demand beefs up the economy in many Asian countries. This is better than the 3.2 growth last year.
Philippine inflation is expected to also go down in the coming months. Inflation forecast for 2023 is at 5.9 percent and 3.8 percent in 2024, according to AMRO.
Inflation is also expected to go down across ASEAN+3.
Though the picture is positive, AMRO also said there are potential shocks like the possible recession in the US and Euro, weaker than expected growth in China, and the risk of a financial spillover from the US because of its tight monetary policy rate. (ABS-CBN News)
