By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat The Philippines missed the “outperformers” bracket among economies in the ASEAN region, but was complimented for being “very recent accelerator” because of its rapid growth in recent years, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). MGI yesterday released its “Outperformers: Maintaining ASEAN Countries’ Exceptional Growth”, which showed the “outperformers” among the region’s 18 developing economies with 3.5 percent growth over the last 50 years and 5 percent annual growth over the last 20 years. MGI called these fast-growing countries “outperformers” for their sustained growth over a long period of time. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand met the 50-year target, and Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam met the 20-year standard. The report noted that a ninth ASEAN member, the Philippines, did not meet either threshold for length of exceptional growth, but MGI named it a “very recent accelerator” because it is now one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. “While the Philippines did not meet either, its recent rapid growth could lift it to the ranks of outperformers in the future,” MGI said. At yesterday’s Decoded Philippines, a summit for over 100 C-level executives from top domestic and multinational companies at Shangri-La at the Fort organized by McKinsey & Company in time for 20th anniversary of its Manila office, the global management consulting firm cited the potential of the Philippine economy. “McKinsey sees great promise for Filipino corporates in the age of disruption. The Philippines has been identified as a recent accelerator in a region of outperformers. This will see global trends hitting the shores of the Philippines in the next decade, and the country must leverage these opportunities to ‘future proof’ its growth, especially with the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the market now facing increasing digital disruptions, businesses need to develop a strategic response to adopt and harness new digital capabilities to stay ahead of the game. A pivot towards digitally or technologically enabled transformation is no longer a question of if, but when,” said Vinayak HV, McKinsey’s Digital Leader for Southeast Asia. The research added that technology and digital-driven strategies are now more effective than traditional approaches in change management programs because, more than improving speed and cost-efficiency, digital also builds capacities. The research added that technology and digital-driven strategies are now more effective than traditional approaches in change management programs because, more than improving speed and cost-efficiency, digital also builds capacities. Based on the MGI report, ASEAN economies differ considerably. Malaysia, for example, has a GDP per capita almost 50 percent higher than the next wealthiest ASEAN country, Thailand, and three to five times the average income of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The region’s next-tier economies—Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam — have become the association’s fastest growers, making ASEAN an example of both current and historical economic outperformance.