Three of the country’s top business leaders remain optimistic that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will be resolved within the year, although it may lead to weaker consumer demand, rising operating expenses (opex), and higher interest rates.

During the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) InvestPH 2026 investment conference on Tuesday, March 17, SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) Vice Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson said the war in Iran “has instilled a lot of fear in all of us, but life goes on, business goes on, capex [capital expenditures] goes on.”

She acknowledged that there is more risk and that opex will be higher, while there will be a softening of consumer demand due to rising inflation, since it’s expected that consumers would not like to spend so much. “But I think it can go back.”

“We just have to make our businesses more efficient, lower our margins, to survive this temporary hiccup... I think most of us are optimistic that it’s not going to take very long. We need prayers for that,” Sy-Coson said.

She also believes that it will be natural for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise policy rates because of the impact of the war, and since other countries are also increasing their rates.

Thus, Sy-Coson said “we’re factoring that in terms of our operations, that all the costs will be higher.”

Ayala Corp. Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said, “I do remain optimistic for the kind of results and the leveling out of the prices at the end of the year.”

However, he pointed out that “you can’t escape from the fact that you need a short-term plan to handle it,” noting that “all of us are faced with a situation where we have to have our brains work on two fronts... One is a crazy crisis frame of mind, which is the now, and the other one is the longer term.”

Zobel stressed that “we have to be very conscious that we are dealing with a real crisis globally on a component of the economic equation that is important to all of us, given that we’re a net importer of energy.”

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Manuel V. Pangilinan said, “generally the [MPIC] group should be okay. There might be some slowdown in the rate of growth, especially profits, because the impact is not yet felt.”

While it is difficult to forecast the business situation, he said, “Actually, we’re redoing our budget... We think we should update based on this latest trend... But I think we should push more for the sake of this country. Continue to invest as much as we can.”

However, Pangilinan said that in times like this, the group’s basic strength remains, since its businesses are focused on essentials and people will still need power, food, water, and healthcare.