The Philippines is among the countries that benefited from strong growth in trade with developing Asia as the continued recovery in exports supported economies in the region during the first half of 2024, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) September 2024 report, the ADB said exports to developing Asia contributed significantly to goods export growth in most Asian economies.
The Philippines added 8.5 percentage points to its export growth rate. Hong Kong, China and Singapore gained most from intra-regional trade, which added 11.8 percentage points and 8.8 percentage points to export growth, respectively, it said.
The ADB said exports from developing Asia continue to increase steadily, led by high-income technology exporters.
“Goods exports have regained momentum, recovering from a 3% contraction in March to 8% growth in July. High-income technology exporters and the PRC (People’s Republic of China) drove the rebound,” it said.
The report said goods exports from the rest of developing Asia are growing, albeit more moderately, while services export growth has remained steady and is primarily underpinned by tourism.
It said global demand for electronics has continued to support export growth in developing Asia.
“High-income technology exporting economies continue to benefit from the upturn in the global semiconductor cycle, driven in part by rising investment in artificial intelligence (AI), which is causing spillovers along the industry’s value chain. Electronics are the largest contributor to goods export growth in a number of economies,” it added.
The report further said the contribution of electronics to export growth is high in the Philippines and Singapore, 5.4 and 4.6 percentage points, respectively.
“The Philippines is benefiting from its continued involvement in lower value-added segments such as assembly, testing, and packaging,” it said.
The ADB said exports of non-electronic goods remained mostly robust, although low mineral prices held back export revenues in some commodity exporters.
