PBBM pitches AsPac neutrality, strong economy By Samuel P. Medenilla
P
FERDINAND MARCOS JR., President of the Philippines, attends a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, January 17, 2023. The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos from January 16 until January 20, 2023. AP/MARKUS SCHREIBER
@sam_medenilla
RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pushed for the “neutrality” of the Asia-Pacific region in the ongoing intense geopolitical rivalry of international superpowers to normalize global trade. Dur ing the welcome lunch hosted by the Philippine Econom ic De ve lopment C abi net cluster in Davos, Switzerland,
on Monday, Marcos said countries in the region should not be forced into a Cold War mentality, where they must pick a side among the opposing factions. “The future of Asia-Pacific for example cannot be determined by any one but the countries of the Asia-Pacific and that removes us immediately from that idea that you must choose,” Marcos said. The President made the statement amid the ongoing rivalry between the United States and
China, as well as western countries and Russia over its attacks in Ukraine. “I think we are determined as a group in ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nation] and in the Indo-Pacific, those around the Indo-Pacific, despite all of this conflict, we are determined to stay away from that,” Marcos said.
Globalization
will pave the way for the resumption of globalization. He noted that the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the UkraineRussia conflict have disrupted international supply chains, leading to many countries moving toward “nationalism, closing borders, and protectionism.” This is about change, he said, as countries, including the Philippines, put in place policies and legislation
SUCH independence and the introduction of new technology, he said,
See “PBBM,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
www.businessmirror.com.ph
n
Wednesday, January 18, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 95
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
SINGAPORE-BASED AMRO CITES BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED GROWTH PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR
Upbeat on ’22, wary of ’23 risks By Cai U. Ordinario
T
@caiordinario
HE Singapore-based ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) has raised its growth forecast for the Philippines’s GDP growth on account of its betterthan-expected performance in 2022, but high inflation and other risks could undermine its growth next year. In a briefing on Tuesday, AMRO said based on its Quarterly Update of the ASEAN+3 Regional Economic Outlook (AREO), the Philippines is now expected to post a growth of 7.3 percent in 2022, higher than the October 2022 forecast of 6.9 percent. However, headwinds expected for 2023 have prompted AMRO to slighly downgrade its GDP forecast for the country to 6.2 percent from the initial estimate of 6.3 percent. See “AMRO,” A2
“This is still a very strong growth rate...The only [concern is that] inflation is relatively high. But that’s because, unlike some of the countries, the Philippines doesn’t have any price subsidies to contain inflation. So there’s a straight path through from commodity prices, high food prices, [and] inflation.”-AMRO CHIEF ECONOMIST, HOE EE KHOR
Despite global slowdown, PHL seen to perform well
T
HE Philippines is expected to become one of the top economic performers in the Asia-Pacific region despite the projected slowdown in global economy this year, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). At the luncheon hosted for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Philippine chief executive officers (CEOs) in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno disclosed they project the country’s economy to still grow by 6.5 percent this year
thanks to promising economic indicators. “And that’s still one of the highest if not the highest growth projection in the Asia-Pacific Region,” Diokno said. Among the factors which will ma ke the countr y “resi lient” from external headwinds are its “bustling manufacturing sector” as shown by the Volume Production Index (VoPI) last November, he said.
ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL...High-rise buildings in Makati’s upscale Rockwell area dwarf shanties in Barangay Viejo along Bernardino Street in the same city in this photo taken Tuesday, January 17, 2023. A report by global NGO Oxfam, unveiled as the World Economic Forum (WEF) was to open in Davos, said inequality had widened across the world, with the richest 1 percent grabbing nearly two-thirds of all new wealth worth $42 trillion created globally since 2020. NONOY LACZA
HOLIDAY ECONOMICS NEEDS REVIEW–NEDA
T
HE bill allowing long weekends to boost tourism and domestic consumption warrants careful study, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). In a televised briefing, Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie G. Edillon said having longer weekends may also have a negative impact on businesses in terms of cost. Edillon said the impact of the economy must first be net positive, otherwise the bill would not boost economic growth. She said
this is the reason for the need to study the proposal. “[We have to] make sure that it doesn’t add to the cost of doing business because we know that such holidays entail costs in terms of extra pay,” Edillon said. “We at Neda will do the analysis once the bill gets to us for comment.” Nonetheless, Edillon recognized that allowing long weekends could help boost domestic tourism and promote work-life balance. But, she added, this has to be checked against the See “Holiday,” A2
See “DOF,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.6510 n JAPAN 0.4252 n UK 66.6469 n HK 6.9970 n CHINA 8.1109 n SINGAPORE 41.3709 n AUSTRALIA 38.0043 n EU 59.1324 n KOREA 0.0440 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.5519 Source:
BSP (17 January 2023)