FPI: Construction will drive GDP growth By Andrea E. San Juan
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he Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) said the country’s economic performance in the succeeding quarters will improve and will be driven by the construction industry. “I think [GDP] will improve because we just came from a pandemic. Not all companies can get back to its feet right away,” Jesus Arranza, FPI chairman, said on the sidelines of the Global Anti-Illicit Trade Summit held in Taguig City
on May 18. The summit was organized by the Economist Impact. Arranza said construction will drive GDP growth. “Lumaki ‘yung construction. It is a big contributor.” While he believes that manufacturing can also help improve the Philippines’s economic performance, Arranza said smuggling is hurting the sector. “Manufacturing is having a lot of problems with smuggling. The worst is its problem with the substandard products because it is not only robbing manufacturers and dislocating workers, but it is also putting our consumers
at risk,” he said. Last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the country posted a GDP growth of 6.4 percent in the first quarter. This was the slowest in eight quarters. PSA data showed GDP growth was at 8 percent in the first quarter of 2022 and 7.1 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. The main contributors were wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 7 percent; financial and insurance activities, 8.8 percent; and other services, 36.5 percent.
Major economic sectors—Agriculture, forestry, and fishing; Industry; and Services—all posted positive growths in the first quarter of 2023 with 2.2 percent, 3.9 percent, and 8.4 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, a recent nationwide survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed that nine out of 10 Filipinos believe that the government should support the Philippine manufacturing sector, saying it has the capacity to accelerate the growth of the country’s economy. See “FPI,” A2
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Friday, May 19, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 214
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AS INFLATION COOLS AND CONSUMER DEMAND EASES
BSP pauses interest rate hikes Anti-agri smuggling courts pushed
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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he Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decided to pause its aggressive monetary policy tightening campaign as it believes that inflation is now “firmly on track” to hit the government’s target. This meant that the Monetary Board (MB) kept the prevailing interest rates on BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility at 6.25 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were also maintained at 5.75 percent and 6.75 percent, respectively. The BSP also said maintaining interest rates are expected in the near-term and that monetary authorities are “unlikely to raise [and will also be] reluctant to cut” interest rates at least in the next 2 to 3 policy rate settings. “If the current forecast is maintained, we are unlikely to raise [rates] but also reluctant to cut because the problem is if the US is raising policy rates and we are cutting, the market seems to see that as a trigger for a significantly weaker peso,” BSP Governor Felipe M. Medlla said in a press briefing on Thursday. “For some reason, the market seems to think that the policy
By Butch Fernandez
D
@butchfBM
espite all the issues on smug gl ing , hoa rd ing , profiteering and agricultural cartels, no one has ever been convicted since the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 10845, Sen. Cynthia Villar said Thursday, as she pressed for the passage of a measure creating special courts against farm smuggling. P re s id i n g o v e r a S e n at e hearing of the Committee on
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, right, speaks besidePhilippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo during a joint press conference at a hotel in Makati City on Thursday May 18, 2023.
See “Anti-agri,” A2
Lisa Marie David/Pool Photo via AP
‘PHL, CHINA MUST OPEN DOORS TO MORE TOURISTS’ By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
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ilipino-Chinese businessmen urged Manila and Beijing to further “widen the doors” of tourism as a way to build understanding and reduce distrust caused by the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea. Dr. Cecilio Pedro, president of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) said the private sector is helping President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promote tourism. A s its f irst sa lvo, FFCCCII brought a delegation from
Huangshan City, renowned for its majestic mountain. Led by Yong Lang, Secretary General of Huangshan Municipal Committee, the Chinese delegation from Huangshan City is in the Philippines to sign a sisterhood city agreement with local executives from Marcos’ hometown, Laoag City. “The key here is understanding. How do we promote understanding? They come here. We go there. Once you understand each other, it’s very easy for you to invest,” Pedro said. Pedro, founder and president of the toothpaste brand Hapee, said the Chinese government is
keen on following through on its commitment to President Marcos to help boost tourism. “Right now, the Chinese are pooling together resources so that they can bring Chinese tourists coming over to the Philippines. There are Chinese delegations coming over to promote tourism and economic development,” he said. In 2019, China was the Philippines’s number one source of foreign tourists with 1.9 million visitors who spent their holidays in Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan. See “PHL,” A2
See “BSP,” A2
PESO exchange rates n US 56.1660 n japan 0.4083 n UK 70.1794 n HK 7.1721 n CHINA 8.0302 n singapore 41.8650 n australia 37.4122 n EU 60.8896 n KOREA 0.0421 n SAUDI arabia 14.9880 Source: BSP (May 18, 2023)