RP economy to stay robust, says ADB chief

The ADB expects the Philippines to sustain robust economic growth in the near term as it reaps the benefits of a demographic sweet spot and gains from a manufacturing resurgence.
“I am encouraged by the recent strong performance of the Philippine economy. It grew 6.8 per cent last year, higher than we expected and among the highest in Asia. This reflected increased public infrastructure investment and higher private investment and consumption,” ADB president Takehiko Nakao said in a speech during the Manila-based multilateral lender’s 50th anniversary reception on Tuesday.
Official data showed that in 2016, manufacturing as measured by the Volume of Production Index jumped 14.4 per cent, faster than the 2.5 per cent growth in 2015.
The BPO industry, meanwhile, remains a major dollar earner for the country. 
It is seen exceeding cash remittance flows from overseas Filipinos in the coming years. Last year, the BPO sector’s revenue was estimated to be equivalent to 10 per cent of the gross domestic product.
In December, the ADB jacked up its 2017 GDP growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.4 per cent from 6.2 per cent. The government targets a 6.5 to 7.5 per cent economic expansion this year.
“In 2017, domestic demand will continue to underpin economic growth. This outlook assumes that investments will continue to expand on efforts to upgrade public infrastructure and improve the business environment,” the ADB said in its December 2016 Asian Develop-ment Outlook Supplement report.
Nakao said the ADB was “strongly committed to supporting the 10-point socioeconomic agenda set out by the Duterte administration”.
 The agenda aims to slash poverty incidence to 14 per cent by 2022 from 21.6 per cent in 2015.