Following an anticipated 9.8% economic contraction for 2020, Japanese investment bank Nomura expects the Philippines to recover at a slower pace of 6.8% next year, instead of the government’s projection of 7.5%.
The Philippines will only approximate the GDP levels of 2019 in the second semester 2022, said the Japanese financial giant.
This is due to the combined effects of having the smallest stimulus package in the region, slow-to-rebound consumer confidence, and the inability to attract FDIs at the same level as our neighbors. Exacerbating matters is the damage wrought on MSMEs and the slow recovery of the tourism, transport and hospitality sectors.
Now more than ever, the Duterte government must find ways to raise revenues and generate business activities to hasten economic recovery. Fortunately, the country has an untapped treasure trove of resources to fall back on.
Like Australia and Canada, the Philippines is endowed with a colossal amount of metals and mineral deposits. Our cache of minerals amounts to well over a trillion US dollars, according to the Chamber of Mines. Our estimated levels of metallic and non-metallic minerals was at 7 billion metric tons and 50 billion metric tons, respectively, as per the last comprehensive audit conducted in 1994.
For the rest of this column: https://www.bworldonline.com/the-mining-industry-can-save-the-economy/