The Embassy of Philippines in association with Hilal Conferences Exhibitions (HCE), will host a conference on the Philippine Economic Outlook and Consumer Behaviour on April 25 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre.  

Karen Remo, the editor-in-chief of The Filipino Times and managing director of New Perspective Media, will be speaking at the conference.

“More and more investors are looking to pump in money into the Philippines, thanks to its stable economic growth buoyed by strong domestic demand and a nation-wide sentiment that real and fast reforms are happening now,” observed Remo.

“The Philippines has the fastest growing economy in South East Asia,” explained Remo.

“According to the World Economic Outlook, IMF’s flagship publication released this month, the Philippines will grow 6.8 per cent this year. This is nearly twice the 3.5 per cent global GDP growth rate and three times the growth of advanced economies. The country’s growth is also higher than those of major emerging markets such as China (6.6 per cent), Vietnam (6.5 per cent), Indonesia (5.1 per cent) and Malaysia (4.5 per cent),” she added.

In light of these economic achievements, the Filipino government has continued to pursue its commitment to increase investment aimed at boosting business from Filipino and foreign investors.

Recently during his visit to the Gulf region, President Rodrigo Duterte had witnessed the signing of $925 million worth of investments from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. This is expected to create approximately 62,000 jobs.

Philippine Ambassador Alfonso Aver said: “Bahrain and the Philippines have deep rooted historic bilateral ties. Our goal is to promote the exciting investment returns available in the Philippine real estate market to investors in the Middle East during Gulf Property Show."

"There are close to a million Bahrain and Saudi Arabia-based Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who plan to buy properties in their homeland. The demand by Philippine nationals in the GCC is being supplemented by increasing investment from GCC nationals and expatriates from other countries living in the GCC," stated Aver.

Remo pointed out that Philippines has become an attractive investment destination for foreign investors.

"Along with this unprecedented economic growth is the continuous flourishing of the commercial and residential real estate market, giving high capital appreciation rate and rental yields," she stated.

New Perspective Media has handled various projects to promote leading Philippine property developers in the Middle East, including Ayala Land, Megaworld Corporation, Ortigas & Co., Greenfield Development Corporation, SMDC and DMCI Homes.

Remo, a recipient of Asian Women Leadership Awards and FWN’s 100 Most Influential Filipinas in the World, will discuss Philippine Economic Growth and Forecast, Filipino Consumer Behaviour, Investment Opportunities, Real Estate and Property Industry in the Philippines, and the Law and Policy on Property Ownership in the Philippines.

"We see the conference as a major first step to provide an understanding and insight into the economy and consumer behaviour and trends. These are vital tools for anyone looking into the Philippine market," remarked Jubran Abdulrahman, the managing director of HCE.

"This is the first conference of its nature to take place in Bahrain promoting the Philippines and we are excited to have engaged the support of the Embassy of the Philippines in delivering this conference," he stated.

The Philippine Economic Outlook and Consumer Behaviour Conference will take place on April 25 from 2pm at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre and will run alongside three major shows – Gulf Property Show, Gulf Interiors Exhibitions and Gulf Construction Expo. Attendance is free but requires prior booking. Interested attendees can pre-book with sarah@tradearabia.net-TradeArabia News Service