Philippine economy poised to outgrow East Asia and Pacific economies - Diokno
The Philippines is the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia and is poised to outgrow its peers in East Asia and the Pacific.
This was bared Tuesday by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno in a press briefing in Malacanang as echoed optimism of international financial institution that the Philippines will continue to grow despite the projected slowdown of the world economy next year.
“So even the international financial institutions agree. In fact their outlook is that the economy, the Philippine economy will grow the fastest,” he said.
According to the finance chief, the Philippines has a relatively strong external position as it is less vulnerable to adverse external shock.
Diokno, earlier briefed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in a sectoral meeting in Malacanang, discussing the economic prospects for 2024, said the economy will grow by around 6 percent this year and will continue to grow at around 6.5 percent to 8 percent for the rest of the President’s term.
“So, we are confident that the economy will grow by around 6 percent, that’s the lower end of our growth target of 6 to 7 percent this year and we will continue to grow at around 6.5 percent to 8 percent for the rest of President’s Marcos’ term,” Diokno said.
Diokno pointed out that the “World Bank expects the Philippine economy to outgrow its East Asia and Pacific peers.”
He said comparing the Philippines performance with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and even China, the Philippines’ 5.9 percent growth in the last quarter is the fastest growing economy.
“Now, if you look at the performance of the Philippines compared to other ASEAN countries including China here, we are the fastest growing economies in Asia, ? 5.9 percent, that’s the third quarter growth; and then compared to Vietnam is 5.3 percent, Indonesia is 4.9 percent; 4.9 percent for China; Malaysia 3.3 percent; and Singapore, 0.7 percent,” he said.
“Now, if you take the first three quarters ? Q1 to Q3 ? the Philippines is still fastest growing. So the average growth rate from the first to third quarter is 5.5 percent followed by China 5.2 percent, Indonesia 5.1 percent, and then so forth and so on. So, as you can see… if you can see, the Asia is the fastest growing region in the world ? we are the fastest growing economy in the fastest growing region in the world,” he added.
Another positive development is the Philippines achieving the lowest external debt-to-GDP ratio in the country’s total debt.
“Now, another important metric that I showed the President is that the Philippines has the lowest external debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio. So, this is external. I will show you later iyong tinatawag na total debt which is external plus domestic. So if you noticed, the Philippines has an external debt of 27.5 percent okay, compare that with Indonesia’s 30 percent; and then Thailand’s 40 percent; and then Malaysia is more than 60 percent,” he said.
He further stated that the Philippines does not face adverse external shock and this is supported by the investor credit ratings particularly from Fitch, JCR, S&P, Moody’s, R&I of Japan.
Globally, economies will actually slow down, Diokno said, noting some experts predict that the global economy will grow by 3 percent this year but it will slowdown to 2.9 percent next year.
Despite these challenges, the Philippines is projected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to grow by 5.3 percent this year and 6 percent next year, he said. Presidential News Desk
