THE Philippine economy has the potential to grow higher next year and continue outperforming its peers in the region despite the expected adverse effects of the policy of US-elect President Donald Trump to most economies in the world, global debt watchdog S&P Global Ratings said in a report Tuesday.
S&P expects the Philippine economy next year to grow to as high as 6.7 percent, higher than its previous forecast of 6.3 percent. The growth projection is higher than Indonesia’s 5.7 percent, Malaysia’s 4.8 percent, Singapore’s 2.9 percent and Thailand’s 4.1 percent.
In 2018, S&P projected the Philippines’ potential growth to remain at 6.7 percent, still outperforming Indonesia’s 5.9 percent, Malaysia’s 4.9 percent, Singapore’s 2.5 percent and Thailand’s 3.9 percent.
“The Southeast Asian economies are seeing stable growth with the Philippines outperforming the region, given its growing middle class, a business process outsourcing boom, and expansionary fiscal policy with emphasis on public infrastructure,” S&P said.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the Philippines could withstand the adverse effects of protectionist policy of Trump because the Philippines was beginning not to rely too much on the western economies, particularly the United States.
Trump said during the campaign period that US immigration policies might be tightened and outsourcing activities could be reduced in a bid to bring back jobs to the US.
Last week, British bank Standard Chartered said the Philippine economic growth outlook remained rosy due to robust domestic demand, higher infrastructure investment and services sector providing the needed support for a sustained growth.
The bank said the Philippines could grow by 6.8 percent this year and 6.7 percent in 2017.
The Philippines economy in the first three quarters of 2016 expanded 7 percent, which is the upper bound of the Duterte administration’s target range of 6 percent to 7 percent.
The economy grew 5.9 percent in 2015, missing the official target range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent but remained one of the fastest in the region.