MANILA -- Malacañang said Monday the decline in business confidence should not be attributed to President Rodrigo Duterte and his policies.
u201dAs we are fully aware, global uncertainties are growing due to recent events such as Brexit, Trump’s election as next US president and slower-than-anticipated global recovery,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Martin Andanar said in a text message to the Palace media.
u201dThese resulted in risk aversion as investors prefer to adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ mode,” he added.
According to the Q4 Business Expectations Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, business confidence for the fourth quarter of 2016 declined with the overall consumer index dropping from 45.4 percent in the third quarter poll to 39.8 percent.
Businessmen are less bouyant for the current quarter because of the perceived concerns over the direction of foreign policies and economic reforms in the country, weakening global demand, foreign exchange losses of importers due to peso depreciation and the lack of supply of raw materials.
Andanar said the government is confident that domestic economic fundamentals remain strong.
u201dFurther reforms in the fiscal sector can help our country become more resilient in the years ahead,” he added.
Recently, the Duterte administration launched big ticket infrastructures that would boost economic growth in the next five years.
The big-ticket projects include roads and bridges, mass urban transport and alternative green city solutions that would address traffic congestion in overcrowded Metro Manila.
Based on the recent data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the Philippine economy grew by 7.1 percent in the third quarter of this year.
The Philippines has even surpassed major Asian emerging economies such as China with 6.7 percent, Vietnam (6.4%), Indonesia (5%) and Malaysia (4.3%). (PNA/Sunnex)
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