According
to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Philippine growth forecast for this
year is projected to increase and record strong growth as the economy shows
impressive resilience despite the heightened coronavirus vaccination drive and
surge in new cases.
In the supplement to the Asian Development Outlook 2021, the ADB expects the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) to grow to 5.1% this year, from 4.5% in September, which exceeds the government’s target of 4-5% this year.
Economists have also upgraded growth forecasts for major Southeast Asian countries in 2022, driven by election-related spending in the Philippines. Additionally, the gross domestic product for the five biggest members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand is seen to grow 5.1% in 2022, according to the latest quarterly survey by Japan Center for Economic Research and Nikkei.
The 2022 GDP growth forecast for the Philippines was revised and projected to increase from 6.6% to 7.1% with an increase from the 2021 projection of 5.1%. According to economists, the said revisions were due to declining COVID-19 cases and rising expectations for increased spending ahead of the May 2022 presidential election.
With the government’s drive to vaccinate the Filipinos against the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth momentum of the country has been picking up. This allowed the government to downgrade the alert level status in Metro Manila (with about 36.59% of Filipinos having been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 according to a report) and the rest of the country and reopen businesses and other economic activities.
The vaccination drive has allowed the economy to slowly reopen, boosting consumer and business confidence. The government’s effort to accelerate its vaccine rollout and allow people to move more freely has helped a lot in improving the economy despite the pandemic.
The continued spending of the government in terms of health, social assistance, and infrastructure is also seen to help the country develop and advance its recovery this year.
According to experts, the government’s expansionary fiscal program and accommodative monetary policy will put the economy on a firm recovery path by the second half of 2021. Moreover, the government plans to strengthen labor market programs and assist in the recovery of sectors badly affected by the pandemic, including agriculture and tourism, which will further support a pickup in the economy, according to recent reports.
Meanwhile, ADB cited that the country’s economic performance in the third quarter was a surprise as it expanded by 7.1% year on year. It was also cited that the third-quarter growth was lower than 12% in the preceding quarter after lockdowns were reimposed due to a Delta-driven surge in COVID-19 cases.
The ADB forecasted the inflation of the Philippines to be 4.4% for 2021 and 3.7% for 2022 due to soaring oil prices, which are higher than the September forecast of 4.1% and 3.5% for 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Additionally, inflation in November eased to a four-month low of 4.2% but remained higher than the central bank’s 3.3%-4.1% forecast for the month. The ADB’s projection is higher than the central bank’s 2-4% target for the year.
The Threat from Omicron
The ADB also reduced its growth forecast for developing Asia with the projection of 5.3% (from 5.4%) in 2022, amid uncertainty brought by the emergence of the Omicron variant. However, the outlook can still pose challenges and uncertainties remain with a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
In developing Asia, ADB also noted that COVID-19 cases daily averaged 50,000 as of Nov. 30, 71% lower than the peak in August. New cases are on the rise locally and internationally, fueled by the new wave of infections in other countries.
For Southeast Asia, the outlook decreased to 3% from 3.1% in 2021 but hiked for 2022 to 5.1% from 5%.
The Omicron variant has driven business sentiment lower, as have supply chain disruptions eating into inventories and hurting capacity to meet increased demand.
Vista Residences is the condominium arm of the country’s largest homebuilder, Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., which offers ready for occupancy and pre-selling condominium projects in Manila and Quezon City that is strategically located within inner-city areas, in close proximity to premium universities and developed business districts.
At Vista Residences, unit owners can take advantage of the property’s centrality. The properties of Vista Residences are strategically located near the country’s premium universities and CBDs, making them an attractive investment for both local and foreign investors.
Vista Residences has ready for occupancy condo projects in Manila such as Vista Taft, Vista Heights, Vista GL Taft, 878 Espana, and Crown Tower University Belt. It also has pre-selling projects in the said area which include Vista Recto, Plumeria Heights, Tennyson Heights, Bradbury Heights, Sky Arts Manila, and Kizuna Heights.
Meanwhile, its ready for occupancy projects in Quezon City include Wil Tower, the Symphony Towers, Pine Crest, and Vista 309 Katipunan. It also has pre-selling condo projects in the said city such as Hawthorne Heights and Vista Pointe.
Living in Vista Residences enables you to enjoy convenience, where everything is pretty much within walking distance or a few minutes away from the property; comfort because the project features and amenities are designed to deliver comfort at all times, which makes condo living a worthy investment; security that is 24/7 and CCTV monitoring, which makes the residents safe and secure within the property.
In line with Vista Residences’ thrust to offer convenience among its residents, it also features an AllDay Convenience Store and Coffee Project in all its projects.
Vista Residences is part of Vista Land’s roster of vertical housing brands that cater to millennials and young professionals. The other vertical brands include Camella Manors, COHO, and Crown Asia.
For more information on Vista Residences, email [email protected], follow @VistaResidencesOfficial on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, or call the Marketing Office at 0999 886 4262 / 0917 582 5167.