MANILA — The Philippine economy will continue to grow rapidly along with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, which is projected to rank as the fourth-largest economy in the next two decades, an economist said.
Dr. Federico Macaranas, Executive Director of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center, believes the Philippines benefits from ‘demographic dividend’, or its young population.
“We can grow very fast because the growth drivers (in the region) will be the young economies. And the Philippines is young, so that one alone is the indicator we can move very fast,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the ASEAN Leaders Forum Thursday night.
Macaranas cited high start-ups in innovative industries with the young people fuelling the change in such industries.
“With the dynamism of our educational system, our science and technology or innovation, we can move forward faster.” he added.
Macaranas also noted Philippine strengths in banking and communication, agriculture, medicine, as well as nursing and seafaring sectors, which have helped boost the ASEAN economy.
“In that regard, we can position ourselves in ASEAN and in the Asia Pacific very well,” he added.
For his part, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad also expected good prospects for the ASEAN region.
“We have fantastic essence in terms of our population, our distribution, our skills. All these things added together, will make the ASEAN region a very great region. Indeed, it is today, by comparison to many other regional organizations all over the world,” Mahathir said during the forum.
He also underscored the need for ASEAN countries to strengthen capabilities together.
“Now we have come to this stage where we realized that we have a population of 600 million people. Even if they are poor, these still form a good market. So if we combine our strength as marketers, as buyers of products, as well as producers of products, we would help each other strengthen ourselves and the grouping,” he added.
ASEAN groups 10 countries –Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (PNA)
