IMF: Investment Scene Still Looking Bright Despite Conflicts Of The Administration

Over the last few weeks, those who are against President Rodrigo Duterte and his administration have been making noise and efforts to pull down the government.

Despite the news that everything is going down the drain, it was proven by IMF or International Monetary Fund that investor confidence remain string for the Philippines. In fact, forecasts states that 6.6% growth for the Philippines this year is to be expected.

In an official statement, the IMF's new country representative in Manila said that the growth outlook for the Philippines remains favorable.

"Our sense is that investor confidence remains strong, as the growth outlook for the Philippines is favorable both in the short and medium term (in line with potential growth we have recently updated)"

Mr. Yang also said in an interview with BusinessWorld that business confidence will still remain in tact even if the heightened political issues in the local scene. This is partly because the second year of President Duterte has been marked with conflicts after the 5-month long Marawi conflict.

On the positive note, the IMF official said the the prospects still look bright for the Philippines despite the challenges of the administration.

"This outlook is supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals and policy buffer, including a low level of public debt and high level of foreign reserves. Ongoing efforts on tax reforms will also growth over the medium term."

The multilateral lender said that the forcast was a 6.6% growth for the Philippines gross domestic product (GDP) this year when it is under the World Economic Outlook published last week, this will allow us to remain as a growth leader in the South East Asia.

This will be doable for the government for 6.5-7.5%. It is expected that the Philippines will have a 6.7% expansion in 2018, which is below our 7-8% goal.

Source: Philnews , BusinessWorld