DOF chief sees economy growing by 6.5% this year

ZURICH – The Philippine economy may expand by about 6.5 percent this year or within forecast while full-year growth in 2022 is expected to exceed the target, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said yesterday.

Diokno made the forecasts during a welcome luncheon hosted by the economic team for President Marcos and Philippine business leaders attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

“Diokno said because of the expected slowdown of the global economy, the Philippine economy is forecasted to grow by around 6.5

percent this year,” Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.

The finance chief’s forecast is within the government’s six to seven percent target for 2023.

“That’s still one of the highest if not the highest growth projection in the Asia-Pacific Region,” a Palace statement quoted Diokno as saying.

Last December, economic managers cut their growth target for 2023 from 6.5 to eight percent to six to seven percent because of the expected slowdown in major economies.

While Diokno expects this year’s economic expansion to be within the administration’s target, he thinks the 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) grew faster than the 6.5 to 7.5 percent goal set by the government. The GDP is the sum total of all goods and services produced in an economy in a given period. It is a measurement of the size of an economy.

“The Philippine government expects a strong full-year gross domestic product growth for 2022, most likely much faster than its growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent,” the Palace said in a statement quoting Diokno.

Late last month, Diokno said all economic sectors would be “surging,” led by manufacturing and construction, while strong domestic demand would be supplemented by exports.

At the same event, Diokno said the Philippines’ “bustling” manufacturing sector, record-low unemployment and “stable” and “resilient” banking system could serve as buffer against external headwinds.

Opening economic sectors to foreign equity, improving the ease of doing business and allowing modern transformative industries to take root and grow would further sustain the economy, he added.

Diokno also stated that the Marcos administration has created a “more competitive and enabling environment” through public-private partnership to further expand its Build, Better, More infrastructure agenda. This would further boost investments on top of the government’s goal to spend at least five to six percent of GDP on infrastructure, the finance chief added.

Diokno said the Philippines is taking the first steps toward launching the Maharlika Investment Fund because of the challenges confronting the economy. He said Maharlika, which is envisioned to become the Philippines’ first sovereign wealth fund, would support the goals set by the government in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.

Diokno said he looks forward to talking about Maharlika during the WEF, which will be attended by world leaders and global investors.

“May the next few days bring forth more intensive collaboration and cooperation towards genuine economic transformation,” he added. The welcome luncheon was Marcos’ first engagement here in Switzerland.