Services exports forecast to further grow- BETP
The revised Philippine Export Development Plan has forecast a 9% growth in 2016 and 8% in 2017 for the services exports, which include tourism and business process outsourcing (BPO). However, the Bureau of Export Trade Promotions Senen Perlada warned that the services sector may soon reach its peak and start to plateau in the next few years because of its very high base for its main contributor, the IT-BPM sector. Export growth in the Philippines has been services-driven in the past eight to nine years due to the expansion of the IT-BPM sector which accounted for about 80% to 85% of the services exports.