Fitch Ratings has lowered its GDP growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.3 percent this year from its previous estimate of 6.9 percent as it sees a tempered recovery due to limited fiscal space. However based on its latest “APAC Sovereign Credit Overview” for the second quarter, Fitch expects...
The government is not yet abandoning its growth target for the year as the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) believes there is still time to recover the losses incurred from recent lockdowns. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said on Monday, April 26 that any...
The recovery of the Philippines from the pandemic hinges on the pace of coronavirus vaccinations as efforts to reopen the economy have been undermined by the surge in new infections, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said. Kelly Bird, ADB country director for the Philippines said on Wednesday, April...
While deemed as one of the Philippines’ economic drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the agriculture sector is also at risk of having its national budget allocation reduced due to fiscal adjustments post COVID. Ibit Integrated Farm is a five-hectare land in San Fernando, La Union that has been...
The national government’s debt ratio soared following its record budget deficit incurred last year due to unprecedented borrowings for the country’s coronavirus response, data from the Department of Finance (DOF) revealed. Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said on Sunday, March 21, that the...
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez expressed confidence the domestic economy can recover in the third quarter this year as long as the government will not pull back the reopening of economic sectors into “quarantine in general,” but instead implement granular lockdowns in areas with...
Credit watcher Fitch Ratings said Philippine banks’ viability ratings (VRs) are vulnerable to downgrades if the economy fails to lift off this year, resulting to further deterioration of assets and loan quality amid a weak operating environment. “We see more prominent risks of a VR downgrade...
The national government’s budget deficit fell below the Duterte administration’s ceiling last year after public spending missed its target while revenues breached the revised full-year goal, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. Fiscal gap of the national government settled at...
Philippine banks are expected to report a bad loans ratio of six percent this year while a return to profits pre-health crisis could come as late as 2023, according to credit watcher S&P Global Ratings. S&P Global in its latest report (Philippine Banks: Buffers Won't Hold If COVID...
The government’s continued movement restrictions will deter the country’s economic recovery this year, one of three major international credit rating agencies said on Thursday, Feb. 18. In a credit opinion, Moody’s Investors Service said that the Philippine economy, as measured by its...
An Inter-Agency Task Force on National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) is being constituted to address the alarming high unemployment situation in the country and help Filipinos get back to the new normal. This developed as government agencies led by the Department of Trade and Industry signed...
The government’s limited number of coronavirus vaccines, coupled with logistical challenges and growing doubt about vaccine efficacy, would drag down the Philippines’ economic recovery, Moody’s Analytics said. In a research note, Eric Chiang, Moody’s Analytics economist, said the...
