Philippines Microeconomic Weekly Update #48

MACROECONOMICS WEEKLY UPDATE

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed a law to create a Philippine employment master plan, aiming to improve job quality, address skills gaps, promote digital technology adoption, incentivize skills development, and expand financial services for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.

Inflation rose for a second consecutive month in September, reaching 6.1%, driven by higher rice prices. This puts pressure on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to consider increasing its interest rates. The BSP has maintained a 6.25% rate since March, but a rate hike may be discussed at the November 16 policy meeting if inflation persists.

The Philippine economy is expected to improve in the second half of 2023 as the government increases spending. In the second quarter, GDP grew by 4.3%, its slowest in over two years, contributing to a first-half GDP of 5.3%, below the 6-7% target. To meet this goal, the government is accelerating public spending, especially on infrastructure projects.

INDUSTRY UPDATE

AGRICULTURE

The first US agricultural trade mission in the Philippines arrived to boost food security and promote industrial innovation. Comprising nine American companies and one US state university, the mission brought innovations like precision agriculture, digital farming, and genetics.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

PLDT Inc. announced on Friday that it had completed the sale of its 230 telecommunications towers to Frontier Tower Associates Philippines, Inc. for P2.8 billion , this is part of the 1,012 towers PLDT sold to Frontier through a P12.1 billion sale-and-leaseback deal announced in March.PLDT expects the remaining transfers to be done in the next few months once closing conditions are met, it added.The 1,012 towers involved in the agreement are part of the 7,569 that PLDT has been monetizing through sale-and-leaseback transactions valued at P98.3 billion since April 2022.

HOLDINGS 

The Ayala Group’s Globe Telecom announced plans to invest in two new cable landing stations and the expansion of its data center portfolio amid surging demand for internet services and content.In a statement, the telco giant said it was building two additional landing stations “on the eastern and western coasts of the Philippines”. These will be connected to new international submarine cables meant to boost internet capacity.

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