Citi retains positive outlook for Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Citi Philippines recently held its annual 2019 Mid-year Outlook event – Improving Diversification Through Global Investing – where Citigold clients had an opportunity to hear expert views on the current market environment and implications for investment strategy.

The country’s leading foreign bank projects positive growth for the Philippines in the second half despite continued global challenges.  

According to Ramon Tejero, Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Inc. (CFSI) president, the coming months will be favorable as both the government and the private sector are expected to start spending again. “We will see investments being made in both public infrastructure and private capital expenditures further boosting the country’s growth,” Tejero said.

Citi forecasts a 6.2 percent economic growth for 2019 and 6.5 percent next year.

The bank also projects an inflation rate of 2.8 percent in 2019 and three percent in 2020. Citi analysts anticipate that domestic demand could see a sufficiently strong rebound in the second half, with more potential monetary easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Tejero also affirmed that based on a recently released report by Bloomberg, the Philippines tops the list of most resilient emerging markets when looking at gross domestic product growth, reserves and other key metrics.