EIU: Economy resilient amid global trade woes

Despite the dismal first-quarter growth mostly weighed down by world trade uncertainties, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) sees the Philippine economy outperforming the region in 2025.

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

"We will maintain our forecast of 6.1-percent growth this year, accelerating from 5.7 percent in 2024, making the Philippines the only ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] economy with faster growth in 2025," EIU Asia analyst Kalyani Honrao and Asia-Pacific regional director Alex Holmes said in a May 8 report obtained by Manila Bulletin.

"We are still cautiously optimistic that the Philippines will be a relative bright spot this year amid global trade tensions," EIU said.

While it conceded that the below-expectation first-quarter growth out-turn of 5.4 percent is a downside risk, EIU expects the domestic economy to weather the uncertainties wrought by external trade hiccups.

The government targets gross domestic product (GDP) growth of six to eight percent in 2025, which would entail an average of at least 6.2-percent expansion over the next three quarters to hit the goal's lower end.