MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines continued to woo foreign investors via a series of non-deal roadshows in the US as well as Hong Kong to highlight the country’s robust growth outlook.
The Philippine delegation, led by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo and National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon, visited institutional investors in Hong Kong and the US cities of Los Angeles, Boston, New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia to entice them to invest in the Philippines.
Guinigundo discussed economic updates and the country’s positive growth prospects supported by sound macroeconomic fundamentals and important policy reforms during a series of one-on-one investor meetings.
Guinigundo said the Philippines is expected to continue to outperform most emerging markets in terms of economic growth and resilience to external shocks in the years ahead.
The Philippine economy grew by six percent in the second quarter from 6.6 percent in the first quarter, bringing the GDP expansion to 6.3 percent in the first half.
Guinigundo said rising government and private-sector investments, as well as improving labor productivity as some of the growth drivers.
For her part, de Leon discussed the government’s bold fiscal program, under which tax reform generates additional revenues to fund vital and long over-due infrastructure projects launched under the government’s Build Build Build program.
“The infrastructure thrust is aimed to further create jobs, improve connectivity, attract investments, and increase the country’s productive capacity,” she said.
According to de Leon, big-ticket infrastructure projects are being rolled out all over the country to address the infrastructure gap.
In doing so, De Leon said the government is mindful of keeping the fiscal deficit within manageable levels – at 3.2 percent of GDP for 2019 and three percent of GDP for 2020 to 2022.
On the Philippine government’s bond offerings, de Leon added such have “been very well-received by the international market as evidenced by the bonds’ favorable pricing.”
“Non-deal roadshows are opportunities to communicate to international stakeholders, respond to questions, and to clarify policy objectives to maintain healthy international investor perception of the Philippines,” she said.