Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees the Philippines growing fastest in emerging and developing Asia this year, even upgrading its economic outlook for the country to 6% despite a projected slump in the global economy.
Its April report released this week showed the multilateral lender’s upward revision for the local economy from the initial 5% forecast earlier this year.
It is faster than China (5.2%), India (5.9%), Indonesia (5%), Thailand (3.4%), Vietnam (5.8%), and Malaysia (4.5%).
The estimate for the Philippines, however, was a sharp drop from the 7.6% growth recorded in 2022. But it is within the Marcos administration’s target range of 6% to 7% rise.
For 2024, the Philippine economy may expand even weaker by 5.8%.
Based on the report, the IMF said the global economy is facing “a rocky recovery” amid recent developments in the banking sector pulling down investors’ confidence. This is coupled with “major forces” in 2022 that might continue this year, including soaring inflation, aggressive interest hikes, high debt levels and persistent shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“[T]hese forces are now overlaid by and interacting with new financial stability concerns. A hard landing— particularly for advanced economies has become a much larger risk. Policymakers may face difficult trade-offs to bring sticky inflation down and maintain growth while also preserving financial stability,” it said.
“With the recent increase in financial market volatility and multiple indicators pointing in different directions, the fog around the world economic outlook has thickened,” the IMF added.
According to IMF’s projections, the global economy may grow 2.8% this year, weaker than last year’s 3.4% rate. For 2024, the global economy is seen to recover to 3%.
