Strong PH economy to persist into 2024

MANILA  -The Asian Development Bank (ADB) kept its growth forecast for Philippine domestic product at 6 percent this year and 6.2 percent next year amid a steady pace of recovery from the pandemic across the region.

In the quarterly update of its Asian Development Outlook 2023 report, ADB said domestic demand and services activity are driving growth in the region, while many economies are also benefiting from a strong recovery in tourism including the Philippines.

The multilateral lender noted that robust investment and private consumption drove the Philippine economy to grow by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2023, supported by rising employment, expanding production and retail sales, and brisk private and public construction.

READ: Philippines’ GDP growth above-target at 6.4% in Q1 2023

On the other hand, merchandise export declined, though partly offset by expansion in service exports. “Tourism bounced back, and growth remained strong for business process outsourcing and information services,” the ADB said.

READ: Over 1.4M foreign tourists arrived as of April 5-DOT

Victor Abola, economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, said in a midyear briefing hosted by First Metro Investment Corp. he expected a 5.6-percent growth in the second quarter and then “much more robust recovery” in the third and fourth quarters.

“For the next full year (2024), I expect an acceleration to 6.5 percent because a lot of the infrastructure projects are just regaining their footing,” Abola said.

“These would come into play, apart from the fact that the housing program of [President Marcos] will go on full swing by next year to address the 6 million backlog—at 1 million housing units per year compared to the 200,000 to 300,000 that we produce every year,” he added.

READ: IMF: Philippine economy to grow 6% in 2023, 5.5% to 6% in 2024