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Upgraded but underperforming: Philippines’ growth lags behind
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Advertisement Upgraded but underperforming: Philippines’ growth lags behind High living costs and delayed public works drag growth projections down far behind regional front runners 4-MIN READ4-MIN The Philippines’ rise to upper-middle-income status was supposed to mark a new phase for one of Southeast Asia’s most closely watched emerging economies. Instead, analysts say the milestone has done little to shield the country from short-term pressures weighing on growth: sluggish public...
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Upgraded but underperforming: Philippines’ growth lags behind
High living costs and delayed public works drag growth projections down far behind regional front runners
4-MIN READ4-MIN
The Philippines’ rise to upper-middle-income status was supposed to mark a new phase for one of Southeast Asia’s most closely watched emerging economies.
Instead, analysts say the milestone has done little to shield the country from short-term pressures weighing on growth: sluggish public spending, delayed infrastructure, high living costs and the fallout from investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
Those strains have left the Philippines looking like a regional laggard. Bank of America is forecasting gross domestic product growth of 2.5 per cent for 2026 – tying with Thailand for the slowest pace in the region – even as it raised its overall Asean growth forecast to 5 per cent, up from 4.7 per cent at the end of the second quarter.
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