BULLISH. Business outlook for the last quarter of 2018 is bullish in Western Visayas, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Department of Economic Statistics Deputy Director Marrel M. Remulla on Tuesday (September 11, 2018) (Photo by Perla Lena)
ILOILO CITY -- Business expectation in Western Visayas is bullish for the last quarter of the year, a lift from the less positive outlook this third quarter of 2018.
Marriel M. Remulla, Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Statistics of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), said the less positive outlook was attributed to the decrease in demand, higher operational expenses, presence of new competitors, and increase in minimum wage that took effect in July.
The bullish outlook was the result of the business expectation survey (BES) being held quarterly among 1,466 companies, taken from the top 7,000 corporations listed in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2010 and top 1,000 corporations of the Business World in 2016.
The result was presented to stakeholders during the 2018 Awards and Appreciation Ceremony for stakeholders held in this city on Tuesday.
“Business sentiment across all regions (Western, Central and Eastern) in the Visayas remains positive (for the Q4, although) a bit lower in Q3 2018,” she said in her presentation of the development indicators in Visayas.
On the other hand, the employment outlook index for the last quarter of the year “remains favorable” in Western Visayas.
“This indicates that more firms will hire more employees in the remaining of the year likewise expansion plans remains positive across all regions,” she added.
In terms of expectations on exchange, inflation and interest rates, Western Visayas expects the inflation and interest rates to go up for the third and last quarters, while peso rate depreciated in the third quarter and is forecast to appreciate in the fourth quarter.
“Increasing financial resources support sustained economic growth in Visayas from 2018 but efforts focused on job creation, provision of more loans could help accelerate economic growth and improve the living conditions of the jobless and small businesses,” she added. (PNA)
