Business Opportunities in the Philippines

The Philippines has the twelfth largest population in the world (about 100 million) and is the fourth-largest English-speaking country. It also has one of the youngest populations in the world, with more than one-third under the age of 35. The country?s population growth is likely to drive economic growth for the next several years, while also increasing the strain on the country?s infrastructure. In 2013, the economy showed resilience despite a number of natural disasters, most notably Typhoon Haiyan and a major earthquake in Bohol, as well as volatile financial markets following U. S. signals and subsequent announcements to reduce Quantitative Easing (QE). The Philippine GDP rose by 7.2 percent in last year, second only to China in the Asia region. Most economists project the economy will grow approximately five to six percent in 2014. Consumer spending and capital formation, led by construction and robust investments in durable equipment and infrastructure, fueled growth on the expenditure side. Remittances by Philippine overseas foreign workers (OFW?s) continue to play a major role in the economy. On the production side, the services sector continued to drive the economy?s growth, although the industrial sector, spurred in part by a more robust expansion in manufacturing output, recently contributed more to GDP growth. Average year-on-year consumer price inflation slowed from 3.2 percent in 2012 to three percent in 2013, which was at the low end of the 3-5 percent range targeted by the Philippine Central Bank. However, inflation accelerated towards the latter part of 2013 due to Typhoon Haiyan-related supply shocks to the heavily-weighted food index. The Monetary Board announced that the future inflation path is likely to stay within the target ranges of 4-5 percent in 2014 and 3-4 percent in 2015. The Philippines posted a US$5.1 billion balance of payments (BOP) surplus in 2013 despite sluggish merchandise exports from weak electronics shipments, a slump in foreign portfolio capital flows as investors repositioned funds following QE-tapering news, and larger net repayments of foreign loans by the national government.