Philippines touted as Asia’s next economic powerhouse

Economic managers at the Philippine Economic Forum in Singapore cited the possibility of the country being the next economic powerhouse of Asia. The Philippines is likely to achieve its GDP growth target of 7 to 8% by 2022, according to the Banko Sentral Ng Pilipinas and its target per-capita gross national income of at least 5,000 USD by 2022, up from 2015’s 3,550 USD. The economic benefits of the Duterte administration were presented to around 100 investors at the forum. The president’s Build, Build, Build program, and other growth drivers including higher public spending on social services, strong household consumption, increased activities in the BPO, real estate, construction, and manufacturing. Finance secretary Dominguez said the country was primed to play a major part in the growth of the ASEAN economic community.