World Bank cuts Philippine growth forecasts until 2027

The World Bank on Tuesday trimmed its growth forecasts for the Philippines for this year through 2027, mainly due to slower construction activity, muted consumption and a sharper drag from US tariff policy.

In its latest Philippines Economic Update (PEU), the multilateral lender cut its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 5.1% for this year from 5.3% in its June report.

For 2026, it lowered its Philippine GDP growth forecast to 5.3% from 5.4% previously.

The World Bank also cut its Philippine GDP growth projection for 2027 to 5.4% from 5.5% previously.

These latest projections are below the government’s 5.5-6.5% growth goal for this year and the 6-7% target for 2026 to 2028.

“We project that average growth over 2025 to 2027 will be lower than 2024,” World Bank Senior Economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi said during a briefing.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.7% in 2024.

“For 2025… the growth is largely weighed down by domestic factors. In particular, lower construction activity and weaker consumption growth,” he said.

The Philippine economy expanded by a weaker-than-expected 4% in the third quarter, bringing nine-month growth to 5%. This, as household final consumption expenditure and government spending slowed amid the corruption mess.

“But for 2026 to 2027, we think that it’s likely that external factors will weigh in more heavily on growth, largely slower export demand,” Mr. Al-Rikabi said.

The US imposed a 19% tariff on most goods from the Philippines starting August.

“The Philippines can leverage its strong economic foundation to implement bolder reforms that can unlock faster, more inclusive growth,” Zafer Mustafaoğlu, country director for the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei said.

“Removing barriers that limit investment and productivity and strengthening competitiveness can create more and better-paying jobs, expand opportunities, and reinforce economic resilience.”

Source: Business World

World Bank keeps PHL GDP forecasts unchanged

The World Bank maintained its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for this year and 2026, amid heightened uncertainty and slowing global growth.

In its latest East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released on Tuesday, the multilateral lender kept its growth outlook for the Philippines at 5.3% this year and 5.4% for 2026, unchanged from its projections in June.

These forecasts are below the government’s 5.5-6.5% target for this year, and 6-7% for next year.

The Philippines is expected to be the region’s fourth fastest-growing economy in the East Asia and Pacific this year, trailing Vietnam (6.6%), Mongolia (5.9%), and Palau (5.7%).

For 2026, the Philippines is projected to post the third-fastest growth after Vietnam (6.1%) and Mongolia (5.6%).

The country’s growth forecast is above the regional average, with East Asia and the Pacific expected to expand by 4.8% this year and 4.3% in 2026.

“East Asia and Pacific region growth remains relatively high, but it is slowing down,” World Bank East Asia and Pacific Chief Economist Aaditya Mattoo said in a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

“At the same time, domestic policy choices, especially the reliance in some countries on fiscal stimulus rather than structural reform, are likely to shape near and longer-term growth outcomes. Turning to the reasons why growth is slowing down, we identify three main factors — trade restrictions, increased economic policy uncertainty, and slowing global growth,” he said.

The US imposed a 19% tariff rate for Philippine-made goods starting Aug. 7.

Mr. Mattoo noted that most economies in the region now face higher tariffs, but the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are less affected since electronics and semiconductors are exempted from tariffs for now.

The World Bank noted that economies in the region have lowered tariffs exclusively on US imports and pledged to increase purchases of specific American goods, in response to higher tariff rates.

“In some cases, countries have engaged with other trading partners to pursue greater diversification of their trade. These actions may be costly but necessary in an uncertain trading environment,” it said.

The Philippine government has vowed to adopt a zero-tariff scheme on selected US goods, but the move could cost the government P27 billion to P30 billion in forgone revenues. However, negotiations with the US have yet to be finalized.

RISE OF DIGITAL INFORMALITY

Meanwhile, the Philippines is seeing a shift in informal work from agriculture to digital platforms like ride-hailing applications, the World Bank said. However, poor education may prevent workers from capitalizing on tech-driven jobs, it added.

“Now there is the new informality, which is informality of these new platform-based services, which are growing in Thailand and in the Philippines,” Mr. Mattoo said.

However, Mr. Mattoo said regulation and taxation of the informal sector can be reformed to ensure fewer people are marginalized from the economy.

“I think the Philippines is in a position to benefit (from emerging jobs due to technology) if it deals with the huge deficit in human capital,” he said.

“It is stunning that a country that punches above its weight in services, exports, still has feet of clay when it comes to basic education.”

Mr. Mattoo noted that companies in the Philippines are actively involved in the artificial intelligence (AI) economy but see a lack of skills in workers due to poor basic educational foundation.

“East Asia’s export-oriented labor-intensive growth lifted a billion people out of poverty in the last three decades, but the region now faces the twin challenges of trade protection and job automation,” he said.

Mr. Mattoo called for reforms in the business climate and education system to foster a “virtuous cycle between opportunity and capacity,” which would lead to stronger growth and better-quality jobs.

The World Bank also called for reforms and investments in human capital and digital infrastructure, greater competition in services, and policies to ensure a match between job opportunities and people’s skills.

It noted that rapid advances in AI, robotics, and digital platforms require greater agility from firms, workers, and policymakers.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mattoo also flagged the Philippines’ slow industrialization compared with regional peers such as Vietnam, citing the country’s continued reliance on trade tariffs.

“Trade taxes are the simplest way of limiting revenue especially in countries with low administrative capacity,” he said, as it diverting resources away from sectors where the country holds an advantage.

The Philippine government lowered the rice import tariff to 15% from 35% in July 2024 to curb inflation. Agriculture groups have since called for the restoration of the original rate, citing adverse effects on local farmers and an estimated P4.3-billion revenue loss for the government.

“I think non-discriminatory instruments like value-added taxes, better and more effective income taxes and perhaps even the more controversial wealth taxes might be the more effective way of meeting revenue needs,” Mr. Mattoo said.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has downplayed the urgency of a wealth tax, but said he would support the measure if passed by Congress.

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Source: Business World

50.4% of Filipinos benefit from financial inclusion

But ratio lower than 51.4% in 2021, the last time that WB published its triennial report

The proportion of Filipinos with financial accounts slightly fell in 2024 compared with three years ago, the World Bank (WB) Group reported, highlighting the challenges of onboarding the rest of the population to the formal financial system.

In its Global Findex 2025 report, the Washington-based institution found that 50.2 percent of Filipinos aged 15 years old and above owned an account with banks and other regulated entities such as credit union, microfinance institution or a mobile money service provider.

This was 1.2 percentage point lower compared with the previous share of 51.4 percent back in 2021—the last time that the WB Group published its triennial report.

The latest data on financial account ownership in the Philippines were based on the results of 1,000 interviews, with a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

Underperforming vs peers

As it is, the rate of financial account ownership in the Philippines was lower than the 83.3 percent average for the East Asia & Pacific and 70.4 percent for lower-middle-income economies.

The findings of the WB Group also fell short of the goal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to include at least 70 percent of Filipino adults in the formal financial system by 2023.

The BSP has yet to release the results of its latest financial inclusion survey.

Notably, the decline in account ownership happened even as BSP data showed that 57.4 percent of total retail transactions in the country in 2024 were cashless. This surpassed the government’s 2024 goal to convert 52 to 54 percent of retail transactions to digital.

‘Concerning’ decline

John Paolo Rivera, a senior research fellow at state-run think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said the dip in financial account ownership was “concerning” as it ran counter to the “digital gains” that the country had seen recently.

“It suggests that economic hardship, job informality and limited digital access in rural areas may have offset earlier progress. The pandemic may have pushed people to open accounts for aid or transactions, but without sustained income or digital literacy, usage and retention likely fell,” Rivera said.

WB Group data showed that among the Filipinos who own accounts, 33.5 percent were maintained with banks “or similar financial institutions.” Meanwhile, 32.7 percent of them were “digitally enabled” accounts, and 28.8 percent were mobile wallets.

This is the first time that the report included data on personal mobile phone ownership and internet use.

Technology as enabler

The report added that 23.9 percent of Filipinos saved money using formal financial accounts in 2024, up from 20.8 percent in 2021.

Globally, the WB Group said mobile phone technology played a key role in the increase in formal saving.

“Financial inclusion needs more than just access. It needs meaningful use,” PIDS’ Rivera said.

“The government and private sector must invest in financial education, rural connectivity and trust-building to bring the remaining half of Filipino adults into the system,” he added.

Source: Inquirer