A surge in artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductor exports boosted the country’s industrial production, according to the flagship report by the Washington-based World Bank Group (WBG).

The WBG’s January 2026 Global Economic Prospects, released Tuesday, Jan. 13, noted that the Philippines, along with Malaysia and Vietnam, benefited from rising global demand for AI-driven semiconductor exports, which contributed to the increase in industrial production.

“Exports were resilient because of front-loading ahead of the implementation of tariffs and increased shipments to non-United States (US) destinations,” the report said.

The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that electronic products were the country’s top merchandise export from January to November 2025, with a cumulative value of $41.91 billion, up 15.5 percent from $36.28 billion during the same period in 2024.

PSA data also showed that total goods exports in the first 11 months of 2025 reached $77.39 billion, the highest since 1991.

Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) president Danilo Lachica said earlier that exports are poised to increase by between 14 and 15 percent from $42.6 billion in 2024.

“We expect to reach anywhere between $48 [billion] to $49 billion,” Lachica said.

If this is realized, electronic exports would flirt with the $49-billion level, which the country last reached in 2022 at $49.09 billion—the current record high.

Lachica said the growth in exports is being driven by demand for conventional technologies such as commercial industrial products and vehicles. He added that the popularity of modern technologies like AI has also been influential.

Meanwhile, the WB forecast the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 5.3 percent in 2026 and 5.4 percent in 2027, while economic growth for 2025 is projected at 5.1 percent.

The WB’s growth outlook for the Philippines remains unchanged from its previous forecast issued in the latter part of last year.

“More recently, weather-related disruptions dampened growth in the Philippines,” the report noted, adding that it did not help that the country also suffered powerful earthquakes late last year.

“In the Philippines, planned structural reforms are likely to boost investment and productivity, but concerns around governance remain,” the WB said, referring to the flood control infrastructure corruption scandal.

If realized, the WB’s projections would still fall below the government’s downscaled growth targets for this year and 2027, although the 2025 forecast is broadly in line with Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan’s outlook of 4.8 to five percent, after conceding that the 5.5- to 6.5-percent growth target for 2025 is no longer attainable.

Earlier, Balisacan, the country’s chief economist, said the Cabinet-level, interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revised the country’s GDP growth targets downward, projecting growth of five to six percent for 2026, 5.5 to 6.5 percent for 2027, and six to seven percent for 2028. Previously, the Philippines targeted an annual growth of six to seven percent growth from 2026 to 2028.