13 APR

7% Growth PHP GDP in 2017-2018 Target

The Philippine economy is likely to grow close to 7% in the next two to three years, and will remain a top performer in the East Asia and Pacific Region, according to the World Bank Philippines Economic Update.

The Philippine economy is likely to grow close to 7% in the next two to three years, and will remain a top performer in the East Asia and Pacific Region, according to the World Bank Philippines Economic Update.

“Strong growth in recent years has been accompanied by job creation and a declining number of people living in extreme poverty,” World Bank country director Mara K. Warwick said.

“That means growth is becoming more inclusive,” she added.

The Philippine economy is projected to grow 6.9% in 2017 and 2018, and 6.8% in 2019. The forecasts are upgrades from the estimates the multilateral lending company had in October last year, which was 6.4% this year and 6.2% in the next two years.

Other lending companies had lower forecasts for the country. The International Monetary Fund projects a growth of 6.8% for 2017 while the Asian Development Bank sees a growth of 6.4% in 2017 and 6.6% in 2018.

The World Bank said the government’s commitment to further increasing public infrastructure investment is expected to sustain the country’s growth momentum through 2018 and reinforce business and consumer confidence.

“The implementation of planned infrastructure projects could generate positive spillover effects for the rest of the economy, spurring additional business activity, accelerating job creation, and ultimately contributing to higher household consumption and poverty reduction,” World Bank lead economist Birgit Hansl said.

The organization noted that the poverty incidence among Filipinos already dropped to 21.6% in 2015 from 25.2% in 2012, which means 1.8 million Filipinos were lifted out of poverty within three years. Higher employment, low inflation, and improved incomes contributed to the decline in the number of poor people, it added.

The report noted, however, that sustaining the inclusive pattern of recent growth will require an enduring commitment to structural reforms that facilitate private investment.

This can be achieved by promoting greater competition, removing restrictions to investments from other countries, simplifying business regulations, and protecting property rights which continue to discourage private investment.

“Underinvestment contributes to high rates of informality and low job quality, and it weakens the impact of employment growth on poverty reduction,” Hansl said.

The World Bank also underscored that the newly completed Philippine Development Plan or PDP (2017-2022) strives to address many of these policy challenges.

Implementing the government’s articulated commitments will allow the Philippines to leverage over the medium-term a number of development opportunities, including the potential for a demographic dividend and using the rapidly growing services sector to increase domestic value addition and accelerate the creation of high-quality jobs, it said.

source: http://www.portcalls.com/ph-gdp-growth-hit-7-20172018world-bank/