WEF: The Philippines could become a $2-trillion economy in the next decade

 WEF bullish on PH economic prospects

Manila Times
Story by Niña Myka Pauline Arceo, Kristina Maralit
20 March 2024

The Philippines could become a $2-trillion economy in the next decade given the country's continued growth and provided that proper groundwork is done, a visiting World Economic Forum (WEF) official said.

"We are very bullish on the Philippines provided that reforms do continue," WEF President Borge Brende said in a briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.

"I think that this can be in the coming decade a two-trillion US dollar economy if there are better investments in education, infrastructure and also able to draw on the great competence of the people of the Philippines," he added.

World Economic Forum President Børge Brende joined by the country's government economic leaders Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan answer the media during the press conference on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Roundtable in Malacanan Palace, Manila on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. PPA POOL PHOTOS (Noel B. Pabalate)

The country must achieve at least 7.0- to 8.0-percent growth in order for this to be attainable, Brende continued.

The Philippines is currently far from hitting the trillion-dollar level, with gross domestic product valued at $475.95 billion as of 2024 according to the International Monetary Fund.

Growth last year was a below-target 5.6 percent but was still one of the highest in the region. The government is targeting 6.5- to 7.5-percent growth for 2024 and 6.5 to 8.0 percent up to 2028.

Amid ongoing global headwinds that could put the growth goals at risk, Brende indicated that the country remained on investors' radars.

"[T]he participants here that I've spoken to say that they're going in with investments in the Philippines... [because] I think there is a stable and sound fiscal policy," he said.

"Of course, there are also some geopolitical challenges that the region is faced with, but it's also an opportunity for the Philippines to get increased investment, especially in the manufacturing area, because there is diversification of the supply chains," he added.

"There are also opportunities when it comes to the knowledge base economy ... productivity can be increased by 30 percent in the coming decade."

The WEF, in partnership with the government, held a country roundtable in Manila on Tuesday. The event, which brought together global executives and local public and private sector officials for discussions about the country's growth prospects, was said to be the first high-level WEF event in the Asia-Pacific since the pandemic.

"The timing of our gathering could not have been more auspicious. These are very exciting times for the Philippines, and we want you to witness firsthand our promising growth story and become part of it," Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said in a welcome dinner on Monday.

Brende, in a statement issued by the Finance department, was said to have declared the country's prospects as "very, very promising."

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a speech on Tuesday, noted that the country's potentials were previously highlighted when it hosted the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia 10 years ago.

"Discussions back then centered on the glowing promise and potential of the Philippines as the strongest-performing Southeast Asian economy in 2014," he said.

"Ten years later, we bear witness to the full fruition of that vision. Today, against the great odds, the Philippine economy shines as the brightest spot in the fastest-growing region in the world.

He cited government efforts to sustain the growth momentum, including over P9 trillion worth of infrastructure projects and reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the country.

"We aim to cover every front at every point of your investment journey," Marcos told the roundtable participants.

He also pointed to investment opportunities in the country's first sovereign wealth fund, the Maharlika Investment Fund, and increased efforts to build trade and economic ties across the region.

"[A]ll this is a mere glimpse into the world of opportunities lying in wait here in one of the fastest-growing economies in this part of the world," Marcos said.

"Clearly, the Philippines is in a prime position to enter into a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the next couple of years."