Philippines

Though Philippine President Benigno Aquino III was only sworn in on July 1, concerns are already voiced in some quarters over the potential impact of administration’s planned austerity measures on the transport sector.

The Philippines’ retail sector is expected to ride a wave of consumer confidence, underpinned by strong economic growth and an increasing flow of remittances from expatriate Filipino workers.

The Philippines real estate industry will soon have a new avenue for raising funds, with regulations about to be finalised to allow firms to establish real estate investment trusts (REITs), a move that is expected to see an influx of capital into the sector and trigger a wave of new projects.

In the lead up to the Philippines' presidential election on May 10, power is increasingly cited as an issue. Though it is not so much a matter of who will control the political destiny of the country as of electricity and the disruption to its supply that is making headlines.

The Philippines' current display of courage and resilience in the wake of devastating typhoons Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) bears resemblance to that of the country's economic performance during the current economic downturn. The country, in the midst of the current economic crisis, will post positive growth figures in 2009 despite most analysts envisaging a difficult year for the country. The negative forecasts were initially based on the assumption that overseas foreign worker (OFW) remittances were destined to drastically decrease.

While the Philippines continues to grow and diversify its service-based industries, such as its business process outsourcing sector, the reality for its manufacturing does not live up to full potential. If the country can develop a robust manufacturing sector to go along with its already expanding service industries, its future economic prospects stand to significantly increase, especially as global demand for consumer goods thaws in the coming years.