Philippines remains among fastest growing economies in Asia 

HSBC Philippines continues to be optimistic on the Philippine economy's growth prospects, noting that the country is one of the fastest growing in the region, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

"I know the Q1 (first quarter) GDP (gross domestic product) footprint came at about 5.4 percent, which is a bit below expectations. But our HSBC house view still remains that for full year 2025, [economic growth will] be at about 5.6 percent. And that is, compared to most of the Asian markets, is one of the fastest growing econom[ies] within Asia," HSBC Philippines head of international wealth and premier Pramoth Rajendran said in a briefing at the Shangri-La at the Fort in Bonifacio Global City on Tuesday.

Rajendran said consumption and the country's demographic dividends would help boost economic growth.

"So 75 percent of the overall GDP is contributed through the consumption itself, which is a standout. Second is your demographic dividends. I think a rising working age population and with an average median age of about 25 years," he said.

"So that is to contribute to the overall economy and the workforce going forward. And that is also a standout," he added.

Rajendran said HSBC Philippines also expects the number of middle class to continue to grow, noting that the number of adults who are probably holding assets and wealth greater than USD250,000 is expected to double by 2030.

With the continued growth of the economy, Rajendran said HSBC is optimistic about the company's growth prospects in the country.

"From HSBC Philippines point of view, we are optimistic in terms of the overall opportunity that Philippines presents. And the few things I pointed out is key indicators kind of supporting that optimism. One is, despite some of the volatility, we're expecting our house view that the GDP growth will still be strong this year, making it one of the fastest growing in Asia," he said.

Rajendran said that since the Philippines is a largely consumption-driven economy, there is relative insulation to some of those volatility.

"And then second is we have about one and a half percent of the population holding significant amounts of the affluence and the wealth. So that population is also going to be largely unaffected to the volatility. So taking all those considerations and also in terms of the target segments, we are reasonably optimistic about the future," Rajendran said.