MANILA — An international think tank sees the Philippines as one of the countries who will become one of Southeast Asia’s heavyweights.
IHS Global said that the country’s growing middle class and resurgent manufacturing sector will contribute to the significant expansion of the economy in the next decades.
It added that the country’s business-friendly policies will eventually cause higher levels of investment that will help ease unemployment.
Forecasts showed that as long as the country sustains the expansion, the per capita income, or the money the average Filipino makes, could double to $6,000 a year by 2024.
This means that the country’s economic size could triple from $310 billion in 2015 to over $1 trillion by 2029.
“These significant increases in per capita GDP will create one of Asean’s largest consumer markets of the future, as the middle class rapidly expands over time,” IHS Global Asia Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas said.
He added that it will attract more foreign investments in the country.
“This will help attract foreign direct investment by multinationals into the Philippines manufacturing and services industry.”
Among the major growth drivers in the country are the fast-growing outsourcing sector and the strong flow of remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers.