Philippine economy can hit 7% growth again
Businessman and former Philippine senator Manny Villar expressed confidence that the country’s economy can hit a 7% growth rate in 2016 due to the robust business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, strong overseas Filipino remittances, and the spending on the national and local elections in May. Villar also said that as long as the government continues to ramp up spending, and based on the factors he mentioned, the country’s GDP can achieve 7% growth in H1 of 2016. However, he stressed that the challenge will be to sustain the high growth in Q1 and for the new president to hit the ground running. BPO revenue and remittances from Filipinos working abroad are considered as among the factors that continue to buoy the country’s economy.