BUSINESS

By Julito G. Rada

THE International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its 2023 growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.2 from 6 percent following the strong gross domestic product expansion in the first quarter.

“We had revised slightly upward our forecast for 2023, based on the strong Q12023 outturn,” Ragnar Gudmundsson, IMF resident representative to the Philippines, said in an emailed response when sought for comment on the latest World Economic Outlook update.

The 6.2 percent projection falls within the 6 percent to 7 percent growth forecast announced by the interagency

BSP: Inflation remains biggest challenge for PH

BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas officials consider inflation as the biggest challenge the country is facing, particularly its impact on the economy.

“Our challenge now is inflation. Fortunately, the BSP’s inflation-targeting framework has served us well in the face of unusual supply shocks,” BSP

Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said during the PostSONA briefing in Pasay City on Tuesday.

“We continue to focus on our mandate of price stability and have dedicated our resources and attention in pursuit of this goal,” he said.

Data showed that from a peak of 8.7 percent in January 2023, inflation decelerated in the succeeding five months. The Philippine Statistics Authority said inflation in June settled at 5.4 percent, the slowest in 13 months.

“Our models tell us that inflation will be within the target range of 2 to 4 percent by the fourth quarter of 2023. This is the range that we think is ideal for an economy like the Philippines when it is growing at full capacity,” Remolona said.

BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said based on their latest baseline forecast, inflation would continue to decelerate in the coming months. Julito G. Rada

Megaworld to open Maple Grove roads

MEGAWORLD Corp. said Tuesday it is opening the roads inside its 140-hectare Maple Grove township in General Trias, Cavite to the public to ease the traffic situation in the area.

Megaworld said in a statement portions of its six-lane, 30-meter wide Maple Grove Boulevard would be integrated into the 12-kilometer General Trias and Tanza Bypass Road to alleviate traffic congestion, particularly along the Antero Soriano Highway, “Our vision at Megaworld is to uplift lives, impact society and help shape our nation–a longstanding commitment we hold close to our hearts. Through transformative projects like Maple Grove, we strive to turn this vision into reality by creating high-impact developments that drive economic growth and bring forth opportunities for the people and communities we serve,” Megaworld chief strategy officer Kevin Tan said.

“These access roads will open up new possibilities, not only for the people of General Trias City and Tanza, but also for Maple Grove and all the exciting developments that we are bringing into this development,” Tan said.

Maple Grove is a P15-billion township envisioned to become Cavite’s first modern central business district. The township features residential condominiums, an upscale residential village and office towers. Jenniffer B. Austria

Cebu Pacific, South Pole discuss climate strategy

CEBU Pacific Air on Tuesday announced its partnership with South Pole to establish its climate strategy to strengthen their commitment to environmental stewardship.

“Cebu Pacific supports global aviation’s goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. With South Pole’s guidance and expertise, we will develop a robust plan of action to prioritize interventions for emission hotspots in our operations,” said CEB chief executive Mike Szucs.

“This roadmap will consider and fuse together the tangible initiatives that we have already put in place, as well as plans that will contribute towards our aspirations of meeting aviation’s net-zero commitment,” he said.

South Pole is a leading climate company that develops projects and solutions needed to enable everyone, everywhere to make an impact on climate change.

The International Civil Aviation Organization in 2022 adopted a long-term global aspirational goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The International Air Transport Association declared its “Fly Net Zero” commitment in 2021 to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.

The engagement with South Pole involves CEB going through the rigorous process of understanding the greenhouse gas emissions generated from its operations towards setting its near-term and long-term emission reduction pathways. Joel E. Zurbano

Development Budget Coordinating Committee.

Gudmundsson said, however, the IMF revised downward its growth forecast for 2024 to 5.5 percent from 5.8 percent “because of global headwinds and lagged effects of policy tightening,” Gudmundsson said.

The economy grew by a 46-year high of 7.6 percent in 2022 on the back of reinvigorated economic activity due to the reopening of the economy to greater normalcy.

GDP expanded 6.4 percent in the first quarter, one of the fastest in Asia and outpacing those of bigger economies in the region.

The DBCC maintained its growth assumption of 6.5 percent to 8 percent for 2024 to 2028, taking into account the risks posed by El Nino and other natural disasters, global trade tensions and value chain disruptions, among other factors.

The WEO update for July 2023 predicted that global growth would fall from an estimated 3.5 percent in 2022 to 3.0 percent in both 2023 and 2024.

While the forecast for 2023 is modestly higher than predicted in the April 2023 World Economic Outlook, it remains weak by historical standards.

“The rise in central bank policy rates to fight inflation continues to weigh on economic activity. Global headline inflation is expected to fall from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 6.8 percent in 2023 and 5.2 percent in 2024. Underlying [core] inflation is projected to decline more gradually, and forecasts for inflation in 2024 have been revised upward,” it said.

The report said the balance of risks to global growth remained tilted to the downside. Inflation could remain high and even rise if further shocks occur,