MANILA, Philippines - Business executives in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have expressed “sky-high confidence on the
Philippine economy this year,” Standard Chartered Bank said in its latest
survey.
“Although we do not have
historical data to compare for the Philippines, confidence among our clients is
extremely high,” the British bank said.
The bank study is the second leg
of an annual survey on ASEAN corporates. The first part of the survey was done
in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
It noted that majority of the
respondents, composed of ASEAN corporates, are highly optimistic on the growth
prospects of the Philippines this year compared to 2012.
“A significant net 77 percent of
corporate respondents (optimists minus pessimists) see their businesses doing
better in 2013 than in 2012,” it said. “Most of our clients in the Philippines
are very optimistic about the economy, 74.5 percent of all our respondents
expect their businesses to do better in 2013 than in 2012. Only 6.1 percent
think that their businesses could do worse in 2013. This is particularly
bullish, considering the Philippines registered 6.6-percent growth in 2013,”
StanChart said.
“And, remarkably, none of the
clients (i.e., of the 170 respondents) named the Philippines as their market of
concern in 2013 (instead, they chose the US, Europe or China),” the study
further noted.
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“We believe this reflects the
Philippines’ relative insulation against external cycles, along with strong
growth prospects that have alleviated domestic concerns,” it said.
The study also indicated that
Philippine peso would remain stronger or flat against the US dollar by end
2013.
“Other clients are concerned
about managing forex/interest rate risks (26 percent) and regulatory/policy (22
percent). We believe that this is attributable to the policy changes such as on
special deposit rates and taxation-in response to the capital inflows to the
Philippines,” it noted.
Meanwhile, the Philippine economy
could grow six percent this year on the back of robust consumption spending
buoyed by the election season and an expected roll-out of more infrastructure
projects, original an investment bank said.
Singapore-based DBS Ltd. revised
its forecast from 5.3 percent, becoming the latest firm to recognize Philippine
economic gains following an above-target 6.6-percent expansion in 2012.
The latest outlook now falls at
the low-end of the Aquino administration’s six to seven-percent target for the
year.
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