PH growth sustainable, fund managers told

Economic gains in the past coupled with the Duterte administration’s plan to ramp up spending on infrastructure and social services would facilitate sustained growth to keep the Philippines among the region’s fastest-growing economies, according to the government’s Investor Relations Office (IRO).

In a statement, the IRO said top economic officials had “vouched before local and foreign fund managers for the Philippines’ ability to remain a regional outperformer throughout the Duterte administration” at a conference call early this month.

“The unique growth story of the Philippine economy—one that is founded not only on strength but also on long-term stability and resilience—offers opportunities for business activity to thrive not only now but well into the future,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said at an IRO-organized conference call attended by more than 100 fund managers from here and other Asian and European countries.

Officials told fund managers of the administration’s growth targets for the next seven years: 6-7 percent this year; 6.5-7.5 percent in 2017, and 7-8 percent from 2018 to 2022.

“Should the growth targets be realized, the Philippines would continue to outpace the growth rates of most Asian countries,” the IRO noted. The Philippine economy grew 7 percent in the second quarter—the second fastest in Asia after India’s 7.1 percent and China’s 6.7 percent, bringing the first-half average to 6.9 percent. Ben O. de Vera