RECOVERY. SLAMCI chief investment officer Mike Enriquez remains optimistic for the Philippine economy this 2021 with a growth forecast of between 3.9 to 7.1 percent. He also cited the need for additional fiscal stimulus to boost the economy's recovery. (Photo from Sun Life Philippines)
MANILA – An executive of Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMCI) is projecting a growth of between 3.9 to 7.1 percent for the Philippine economy this year, with the upper end in line with the government’s target.
“The midpoint is about (a) 5.5-percent GDP (gross domestic product) forecast for 2021,” SLAMCI chief investment officer Mike Enriquez said in a virtual briefing Wednesday.
Enriquez said he expects the second-quarter print to be 10 to 15 percent due to base effects of the decades-low -16.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
The third-quarter growth projection is 6.5 to 10 percent while the fourth-quarter forecast is 3 to 7 percent.
GDP in the first quarter this year stood at -4.2 percent, an improvement from the -8.3 percent in the last quarter of 2020.
Enriquez said there is a clamor for additional fiscal stimulus to boost programs targeted to help the economy recover from the pandemic, citing that existing measures are below expectations.
He said the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act “are not enough to help absorb all the unemployment, the displaced workers.”
Enriquez acknowledged the “aggressive monetary policy” of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that really helped in curbing the impact of the pandemic on the economy. (PNA)
