The recent slide in the Philippine peso to seven-year lows is "not necessarily a bad thing" because it boosts exports and remittances from Filipinos working overseas, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said on Wednesday.
The peso touched 48.615 to the dollar in early October, its weakest since September 2009, and was trading near that level on Wednesday. Dominguez said the peso's weakness was in line with losses in other currencies ahead of a potential hike in US interest rates next month.
"People are buying dollars in order to be able to position themselves if and when the Fed increases interest rates in the US," Dominguez told a media briefing shown on television.
But he said the peso's slide is "not all bad" as it increases the amount of pesos received when foreign currencies sent home by Filipino workers overseas are converted. Remittances are a pillar of the Philippine economy as they spur domestic spending, including on property purchases.
Also, Dominguez said, exported agricultural products "will certainly benefit. So a slide in the peso is not necessarily a bad thing."
The finance secretary also said the government expects to raise government spending over the next six years to boost economic growth.
"We need to rapidly build new roads, railways, ports to decongest our cities and reduce the logistics cost for the most basic goods of our people," he said.
In the second quarter, the Philippine economy had annual growth of 7 percent, one of the world's fastest rates. Third-quarter growth data will be released on Nov. 17.
The government plans to boost infrastructure spending next year to the equivalent of 6 percent of gross domestic product, from this year's target of 5 percent.
Dominguez said the government will review in May 2017 the list of areas that foreign players cannot invest in currently.
President Rodrigo Duterte "wants to open all areas of economy to foreign investment with the exception of land which is a very cultural and touchy issue," the finance secretary said.
The restrictions on foreign ownership have kept foreign direct investment in the Philippines small compared with its regional peers.
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