PCCI remains upbeat on Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business organization, is maintaining its bullish stance on the country’s growth this year amid the slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.

PCCI president Alfredo Yao said the economic slowdown in China should not worry investors looking at the Philippines as the country’s economy has become resilient enough to withstand such shocks.

“We will be the least affected and we will be the first one to recover. The Philippines is doing very well in the past few years, hopefully it will continue. Our fundamentals are very good,” he said.

Yao said PCCI is sticking with its forecast of a 6.5-percent Philippine economic growth by year-end.

Infrastructure projects and spending related to the country’s hosting of APEC in November as well as the holding of national elections in 2016 are seen as factors driving growth, the PCCI official said.

“We have a seasonality so during the last quarter we normally do well. Another is that public spending is also expected to pick up,” Yao said.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated 5.6 percent in the second quarter of the year, lower than the government’s expectations.

In its efforts to help fuel the country’s economy, the PCCI signed yesterday a memorandum of agreement with the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) to promote and expand trade, economic, scientific, technological cooperation and other business relations between concerned organizations and firms of both parties.

“This agreement between PCCI and GPCCI is a very significant moment that takes into account the common aspiration of the business circles in the Republic of the Philippines and those of the Federal Republic of Germany to develop mutually beneficial relations, whether it be in trade, science and technology, innovative manufacturing, or transfer of knowledge and learning experiences in technology,” Yao said.