5. 1 percent growth in 2021. this pattern suggests resilience. net foreign direct investments are projected to rise to usd 8. 5 billion this year amid expectations of improved domestic and global investment climate. while the covid - 19 virus rages, we didn ’ t sit idly by and wait for the pandemic to recede. we continued to work for the enactment of structural reform measures : these include the following : first, the amended retail trade liberalization act, which lowers the minimum paid - up capital for foreign retailers ; second, the amended foreign investments act, which encourages foreign professionals to bring their practice, know - how, and technical expertise to the philippines ; and third, the amended public service act, which will open key economic sectors, such as telecommunications and airline industries. however, there are risks to our outlook. one is the uneven recovery between advanced economies ( aes ) and emerging market economies ( emes ), as the pace of mass vaccination and effectiveness of policy support differ. another risk is the potential emergence and spread of new covid - 19 variants in other countries. rising inflation, both in aes and emes, is also a threat owing to growing demand, input shortages caused by supply - chain bottlenecks, and rapidly rising commodity prices. we expect the conflict between russia and ukraine to continue exerting pressure on key commodity prices, particularly oil and wheat. the conflict could also cloud global trade and investment outlook and cause financial market volatility. the bsp supports the national government ’ s fiscal interventions to address upside risks to inflation and safeguard the economic recovery momentum. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches for instance, timely social protection measures could alleviate the impact of rising crude oil prices on the transportation and agriculture sectors, while measures to ensure adequate domestic food supply could mitigate further supply - side pressures on inflation. in closing, i would like to highlight three key points : • first, the country ’ s macroeconomic fundamentals remain sound. • second, there are risks to this outlook, such as lingering uncertainties in the covid - 19 situation and the russia - ukraine conflict. • and third, the bsp is one with the national government in helping the economy achieve full recovery. the bsp is striking a balance between providing adequate stimulus to sustain economic recovery and managing risks to price and financial stability. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

amando m tetangco, jr : rbap - mabs – providing wider and deeper access to microfinance speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the celebration of the rural banking industry ’ s 10 years of success in microfinance under the rbap ’ s mabs program, manila 13 june 2007. * * * hon. secretary cerge remonde, ambassador kristie kenney, general william hotchkiss, members of the rural bankers association of the philippines, fellow central bankers, special guests, good morning. on behalf of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas, i congratulate the rural banks, the usaid, and other enabling institutions represented here today as we celebrate ten years of success in providing microfinance services under the microenterprise access to banking services program. indeed, the rbap - mabs partnership is a successful empowering program that continues to bring much needed financial services to clients in the countryside. for a country like ours where roughly 99 % of total enterprises are micro, small and medium enterprises or msmes, which in turn employ about 70 % of our workforce, a successful program such as mabs is bound to have a significant impact. beginning with the first loan disbursed by the rural bank of sto. tomas ten years ago, mabs banks have since disbursed more than a million loans to over 350, 000 borrowers, spurring the growth and development microenterprises and, in the process, transforming lives and communities for the better. surely, we should celebrate milestones such as this. at the same time, this ten - year milestone compels us to assess how we can deliver appropriate microfinance services in an even better and more cost - efficient manner to more of our country ’ s entrepreneurial poor. fortunately, recent developments in the industry are opening new opportunities and presenting us with interesting possibilities that can lead to revolutionary ways of providing better microfinance services. first among these developments is the changing face of microfinance itself. gone are the days when microfinance was synonymous only to microcredit or small loans. today, microfinance institutions are providing a wide range of financial services to their clients such as savings, remittances, transfers and, increasingly, micro - insurance. in addition, microfinance institutions are