The Philippine economy is emerging as a powerhouse not just in the Southeast Asian region, but across the globe. According to British banking giant HSBC, the nation’s economy will likely outperform its peers on both the regional and global scale over the next two years.
The optimistic predictions are backed by eased monetary policies by the Duterte administration, resilient private consumption and spending, and a strong rebound for capital inflow and foreign investment.
HSBC forecasts that foreign investments into the country will soon rebound to 10.7 percent by 2020 – a huge increase from the 2.3 percent of 2019. The uncharacteristically low capital inflow last year was due to the delayed signing of the 2019 national budget. The reenacted budget severely constrained public spending and slowed the steeply progressing Philippine economy.
By this year, HSBC predicts that the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) will reach 6.4 percent. By 2021, they see it rising to 6.5 percent. In comparison, the average projected growth of Asian emerging markets for 2020 and 2021 are 5.1 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, inflation for 2020 is predicted to rise to 2.9 percent. This value still falls well within the 2 to 4 percent target range of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
