nestor a espenilla, jr : maintaining a conducive macroeconomic environment speech by mr nestor a espenilla, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the european chamber of commerce of the philippines ( eccp ) membership luncheon event, makaty city, 25 october 2017. * * * mr. guenter taus, eccp president, distinguished officers and members of the eccp, special guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. the european union ( eu ) with its 28 member states and 512 million citizens forms the second largest economic market of the world. closer to home, 15 percent of philippine total exports go to the eu, making it a key trading partner. a major source of direct investments comprising roughly 12 percent of total gross placement of foreign direct investment comes from the eu. moreover, nearly 12 percent of total cash remittances from filipino overseas workers originate from the eu.... it cannot be doubted that the eu is a formidable economic partner of the philippines. with this important relationship in mind, and with a view of building stronger ties, cooperation and collaboration, it is my pleasure and privilege to be your guest speaker at today ’ s membership luncheon. i thank the european chamber of commerce of the philippines ( eccp ) for the invitation and welcome this opportunity to speak about our initiatives at the bangko sentral ng pilipinas which are aimed at promoting a conducive business climate. i am also pleased to share in greater detail how the philippines offers significant investment prospects as the economy is expected to grow strongly in the next few years. as long - term investors in the country, you may have witnessed how the macroeconomic stability we now enjoy was brought about by significant structural reforms pursued through the years. the list of reforms is long and the scope wide ranging. it is because of these reforms that price and financial stability have been achieved and maintained. since adopting the inflation targeting framework in 2002, inflation has generally been kept low and stable. this is our source of credibility as a monetary authority. to sustain the positive growth and inflation dynamics in the country, the bsp enhanced the implementation of inflation targeting through the adoption of the interest rate corridor ( irc ) system. the irc enhances the link between the bsp ’ s monetary policy stance and financial markets, and from there its impact on the real economy. the primary benefit of the adoption

pie. indeed, while implementing the nrps is most challenging, it also represents vast opportunities from the business point of view. equally significant, digitization of payments can promote greater financial inclusion. our national baseline survey in financial inclusion showed that only 4 out of 10 filipino adults currently have savings, of whom only 32. 7 % put their money in banks. the survey also indicated that 47 % of filipinos have debts but banks contribute only 4. 4 % of their borrowings ; the rest are from family, relatives, friends and informal lenders. ladies and gentlemen, the nrps initiative is a rare opportunity for all of us to work together to do something that can be a real positive game changer for the economy and for our people. bis central bankers ’ speeches i call upon the bancnet community therefore to give your full support to establish a safe, efficient, and reliable national retail payment system. as albert einstein once said, it is not enough to be a success, strive to be of value. once again, congratulations to bancnet on its 25th anniversary. mabuhay po tayong lahat! bis central bankers ’ speeches