Philippines: Business outlook dims in Q3

• May 28, 2017

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said businessmen have a less optimistic view for the third quarter after posting an upbeat view in the second quarter of this year.

According to the BSP’s Business Expectation Survey for the second quarter of 2017, the business outlook was less optimistic, with the confidence index slipping to 42.7 percent from 47.2 percent due to seasonal factors that include the rainy season and lower consumer demand as households prioritize enrolment expenses.

Businessmen were more upbeat about the country’s economic prospects in the second quarter of the year after a disappointing expansion in the first quarter of the year.

The survey covered 1,485 companies nationwide and was conducted from April 3 to May 16, days before the Marawi attack on May 23.

Rosabel Guerrero, director of the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics, said the business outlook on the economy turned more favorable in the second quarter of 2017, improving to 43 percent in the second quarter of the year from 39.4 percent in the first quarter.

The increase in the business confidence index in the second quarter ended three consecutive quarters of steady decline in the overall business confidence index.

“This means that more businesses are optimistic about the country’s economic prospects for the second quarter of the year compared to that a quarter ago,” she said.

Weaker-than-expected pri-vate consumption pulled down the gross domestic product growth to 6.4 percent in the first quarter of the year from 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter of the year.

Source: http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/05/28/1704154/business-outlook-dims-q3