THE MARKET CALL (SEPTEMBER 2019)
Macroeconomy
We are bullish on the economic growth and inflation fronts. We expect Philippine growth to expand by 6.0% in Q3 and accelerate further to 6.5% in Q4 on the back of formidable new job creation by July 2019, inflation falling to 1.7% in August on track to go sub-1.5% by September and signs of resurgence in National Government (NG) spending to boost domestic demand starting Q3. Besides, better-than-expected external demand would stimulate the economy as exports growth has remained in positive territory since April 2019.