Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Monday the Philippine economy likely ended 2022 strongly despite the domestic and global headwinds that threatened to stifle growth.
Diokno said in a speech during the Philippine Economic Briefing in Frankfurt, Germany economic growth in the first three quarters of 2022 surpassed expectations.
“The economy grew 7.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2022, overtaking bigger economies in the region and surpassing the target range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent [for the year],” Diokno said.
“We expect [the economy] to finish the year strongly,” he said.
Diokno underscored the country’s strengths such as the improving labor market, sustained inflows of foreign direct investments and increasing revenue collections.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that unemployment rate fell to a 17-year low of 4.2 percent in November, which was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 percent. Net foreign direct investments in the first 10 months reached $7.6 billion.
“We are poised to overshoot our revenue targets… From January to November 2022, revenue collections hit P3.4 trillion, 18.1 percent higher year-on-year. This is 99.2 percent of our full-year target in 2022,” Diokno said.
Diokno said the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals enabled it to weather the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at its worst. He said global investors should take a look at the Philippine economy.
“We invite the German investment community to explore opportunities in telecommunications, airports, shipping, renewable energy [among others],” Diokno said.
The Philippine Economic Briefing, led by the Department of Finance and co-organized by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, is an integral part of the overall economic communications campaign of the government.
It serves as a platform for key economic officials to brief international business and financial communities on the latest developments concerning the country’s robust economic performance, investment opportunities and the Marcos administration’s development plan.
Bangko Sentral Governor Felipe Medalla, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan also attended the briefing.
The DOF and the BSP organized the briefing in Frankfurt in partnership with Bank of America Securities, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered Bank, UBS, Embassy of the Philippines in Berlin, German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Department of Trade and Industry.