Citi retains positive outlook for Philippines in 2H 2019

Citi Philippines CEO Aftab Ahmed and Consumer Banking head Manoj Varma lead the Citigold 2019 Mid-year Outlook joined by (from left to right) BPI Investment Management Inc. president and chief investment officer Roberto Martin, BlackRock director and product strategist Multi-Assets Strategies Group Eric Mueller, Citi Philippines Retail Bank head Therese Chan, and Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Philippines Inc. president Ramon Tejero. Citi Philippines

Citi Philippines is projecting positive growth for the Philippines in the second half of the year, despite global challenges.

The coming months will be favorable as both the government and the private sector are expected to start spending again, said Ramon Tejero, Citicorp Financial Services and Insurance Brokerage Inc. (CFSI) president.

“We will see investments being made in both public infrastructure and private capital expenditures further boosting the country’s growth,” Tejero said.

Citi is forecasting GDP to grow 6.2% this year and 6.5% next year. Its inflation outlook is 2.8% in 2019 and 3.0% in 2020.

Domestic demand could see a sufficiently strong rebound in the second half of 2019, with more potential monetary easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the bank said citing its analysts.

Based on a recently released report by Bloomberg, the Philippines tops the list of most resilient emerging markets when looking at GDP growth, reserves and other key metrics, Citi said in an emailed statement.

“We will work hard to continue to offer the best products across asset classes, the best people through our relationship managers and robust platforms to ensure a seamless customer experience,” Citi’s consumer banking head Manoj Varma said in the same statement. —VDS, GMA News