THE Philippine metal sector sees 25 percent growth in 2020 with demand for steel expected to continue growing amid more construction activities.
Jimmy Chan, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. trustee for the metals sector, said while exports only comprise a small portion of its total revenues, the domestic market is huge.
“In the Philippines, we are very fortunate because we have the construction—Build, Build, Build (infrastructure program) and also the local construction activities where the Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) are giving a very big boost to our local economy,” he said.
Chan said there are a lot of construction activities for the steel sector, particularly for Pogos.
Chan said the government is expected to pick up the pace on infrastructure development after it slowed down due to the budget deadlock in the Congress.
Chan said the world economy is likewise seen to be much better in 2020 than this year, as many of the companies started retooling.
“A lot of economies are forecasting that there will be an upcoming slowdown in the United States and in Europe. It’s all slowdown and the rest of the Southeast Asian nations are also slowing down. But everybody is retooling so it will go up,” he added. (PHILEXPORT NEWS AND FEATURES)