Forbes Asia - October 2018

Makati Skyline

Photo credit: Eric Beltran

1 The Philippines

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Charting a steady course, the Philippine
economy has been growing by at least 6%
every year for the past six years straight. This
year continues that trend, with gross domes-
tic product expanding by 6.6% in the first
quarter of 2018.
Manufacturing, services, trade, capital for-
mation, government and consumer spend-
ing have been the economy’s main drivers.
Among sectors, industry surged by 7.9%
in the first quarter, compared with 7.3% in
the year-earlier period, while services ticked
up by 7%—establishing that the country’s
manufacturing base is on the right path for
industrialization. Meanwhile the entry of new
telecommunications players is expected to
improve the communications, trade and
information technology sectors.

Infrastructure Boom
Helping to reinforce the Philippines as a solid
investment destination, the Philippine gov-
ernment has boosted infrastructure spend-
ing, with President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build,
Build, Build” program stimulating not just
public construction but private develop-
ments as well.
In coordination with the Department
of Transportation, International Container
Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has built the
US$30 million Cavite Gateway Terminal—the

country’s fi rst roll-on, roll-off container barge

terminal. This is integrated with other major

port facilities, including its flagship Manila

International Container Terminal (MICT),

which now can handle the world’s largest

container ships thanks to its new Neo-Pan-

amax cranes.

“We’re ready for the era of super-sized

ships. Combined with our unparalleled cus-

tomer focus and highly trained staff , the new

cranes allow MICT to further boost its already

efficient turnaround times,” says Christian

Gonzalez, ICTSI global corporate head.

The investment community is also opti-

mistic about the country's continued growth.

Says Frederic DyBuncio, the president and

chief executive officer of SM Investments

Corp: “We believe investment in the area of

infrastructure is still growing and large proj-

ects have yet to be launched. With more effi -

cient infrastructure, we will bring our com-

petencies in retail, property, banking and the

rest to support the country’s development by

pursuing aggressive expansion beyond the

Philippines’ key cities.”

New Developments

The new international terminal at the Mac-

tan-Cebu International Airport opened this

July. Serving the country’s second-largest

metropolis and a major business and tourism

hub, the world-class structure has increased

the airport’s capacity to 12.5 million passen-

gers annually.

Buoyed by increasing tourist arrivals and

sky-high occupancy rates at its Solaire Resort

in Manila’s Entertainment City, Bloomberry

Resorts is working on its second integrated

property in Quezon City, north of Metro

Manila.

Ground has been broken at Clark Green

City, the master-planned sustainable city

envisioned to decongest Metro Manila. Cur-

rently under construction is the PHP1.78 bil-

lion (US$33 million) Clark Green City Govern-

ment Center, the PHP850 million (US$15.8

million) Clark Commercial Center and the

PHP3.33 billion (US$61.3 million) Clark Mixed-

Income Housing.

Sustainable Growth

The Asian Development Bank says the Philip-

pines remains on a "healthy trajectory," pro-

jecting growth of around 6.8% this year. More

importantly, growth has been accompanied

by a decline in poverty rates.

The country’s total trade grew by 13.5%,

reaching US$14.8 billion in June 2018. With

government measures encouraging invest-

ment along with improved labor market con-

ditions, the Philippine economy is expected

to sustain growth.

Solid fundamentals and domestic demand continues to bolster the Philippines'

position among Southeast Asia’s dynamic economies.

THE PHILIPPINES

BUILDING ON STRONG AND STEADY GROWTH