Industry leaders and key decision makers from across sectors gathered at the recent SNAP Conversations: 2024 Economic Outlook Forum to gain insights into the Philippine economic projections, programs, and priorities for the year ahead. Hosted by SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) last February 22, the online forum featured distinguished speakers Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Lead Economist Emilio Neri, Jr. of Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).
“At the heart of these conversations [on Philippine economic outlook] lies a fundamental question: How can we navigate this economic landscape?” SNAP Group President and CEO Joseph Yu set the tone for the forum by alluding to the promising economic growth for the country.
In his discussion on the Philippine’s growth prospects and priorities for 2024, Sec. Balisacan expressed his optimism about the country’s economic state, asserting that “the Philippines is expected to outperform its neighbors this year,” provided that the lessons learned from the past year are translated into decisive, committed, and programmatic actions.
This was echoed by Mr. Neri, who shared that there is an expected acceleration of economic growth in the ASEAN region, with the Philippines being one of its main drivers. Despite the existing geopolitical and trade tensions, climate change concerns, and the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which continue to pose challenging threats, Neri highlighted the key indicators pointing towards a notably stronger outlook for 2024 and 2025 compared to previous years. “The Philippines is now in robust recovery mode,” he said.
Secretary Balisacan shared the administration’s ongoing efforts to drive the country’s industrialization and development and sustain the country’s economic growth: “Most of our infrastructure projects in the pipeline are around physical connectivity types, [such as] roads, highways, railways, including subway.”
He also reiterated the significant role of the private sector in enabling industrialization and development,
and affirmed the administration’s commitment to accelerating the process of socioeconomic transformation. “At the end of the day, what we want is rapid growth, high growth. Growth that is meaningful for every Filipino,” he concluded.
This Economic Outlook forum is part of SN Aboitiz Power Group’s ‘SNAP Conversations’ series, a knowledge-sharing event, held quarterly, dedicated to fostering insightful discussions on key topics within the power sector and beyond.
