MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed P5.024 trillion budget for 2022 is “too small” to stimulate demand in the consumption-starved economy and adequately respond to the pandemic, a non-government think tank said. “The Duterte administration is not spending enough to stimulate the economy and, moreover, is not even spending on health, ayuda (aid), and small […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — The country will continue to pay its debts beyond the ideal international threshold of 60 percent of domestic output until 2024, a top finance official said. In an interview with reporters, Finance Undersecretary and chief economist Gil Beltran said the debt-to-GDP ratio could improve only by 2025 at the earliest. Up to […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — Philippine banks continued to provide financial relief to borrowers severely affected by the pandemic and at the same time ensured continued access to essential financial services amid the lockdowns, according to the Bangko Sentral ng PIlipinas. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the amount of loans restructured by local banks reached P328.6 billion […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — The government should provide substantial cash assistance to poor Filipino families as the meager P1,000 ayuda will never be enough to mitigate the worsening poverty situation in the country amid the pandemic, according to an advocacy group. Research and advocacy group IBON Foundation renewed its call for the government to provide much […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — The economy will return to pre-pandemic activity only in 2025 at the earliest, unless the remaining tax reforms are legislated and lockdowns are lifted, the Department of Finance said. Finance Undersecretary and chief economist Gil Beltran told reporters the Philippines may regain its 2019 numbers only in about four years, depending on […]
Read MoreMANILA, Philippines — S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the Philippines’ 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 4.3 percent from an earlier six percent outlook due to the emergence of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant. The debt watcher said intermittent lockdowns have been weighing on economic activity as the emergence of new variants […]
Read More
Thailand
