PCCI expects economy to grow 3%-4.2% in 2009
Ma. Elisa P. Osorio
Philippine Star
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said the economy will only grow by three to 4.2 percent next year while exports are expected to increase by only five to eight percent.
“The country will grow by no less than three percent. That is expected given the economic situation worldwide,” PCCI chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis said in an interview at the sidelines of yesterday’s press conference.
Ortiz-Luis, who is also the president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport), said that the major problem of the country is the value of the peso and the shrinking client base.
The biggest market of exporters are the United States and Europe, both of which were hit by the economic crisis.
In fact, he said semiconductors export, the largest component of local sales overseas, will remain in the red.
“It (electronics export) has been negative for the last several months. It is okay as long as it will not go beyond negative five percent,” Ortiz-Luis explained.
Bulk of the growth for exports next year is expected to come from the merchandise sector with a projected three to five percent while total exports including services is expected to expand by five to eight percent.
In spite of the slowdown, Ortiz-Luis said that the industry will hit the three to five percent full year export target as first 10 months data already showed a growth of more than four percent.
According to Ortiz-Luis, the Philippine economy will fare better than our neighboring countries because the government is looking at increasing public spending.
The government and the private sector are readying a P100-billion fund that will spur spending in the country’s infrastructure in a bid to further insulate the Philippines from the effects of the global financial crisis.
Meanwhile, PCCI chairman emeritus Donald Dee said he already has an idea who to approach in order to complete the private sector contribution.
“Contributing to the fund is attractive to private banks because they will already have a ready market,” Dee said.
He said the proponents of the fund, in coordination with the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) will evaluate which infrastructure projects to fund.
Dee explained that the P100 billion will be released pro rata, depending on the result of each project evaluation.
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