support ease of doing business and help improve the country ’ s investment climate. the banking sector was fully liberalized earlier in 2014 to allow entry of foreign banks under republic act no. 10641. since the law ’ s enactment, the bsp has already approved the entry of 11 new foreign banks. 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches fifth : the agricultural sector today ’ s fifth panel discussion will revolve around the agriculture sector. and this sector is indeed an important driver and draw for increased investments. recently, the bsp issued guidelines on agricultural value chain financing ( vcf ) to facilitate credit to the agriculture sector. this opens up credit provision to all the players in an organized value chain and promotes vcf as an effective, organized means of channeling funds to the agrifisheries sector, promoting their financial inclusion. by encouraging linkages among various players in an agri - value chain, the credit risk of participating smallholder farmers and fisher - folk can be reduced and facilitate their access to more credit. but beyond this sector are other unserved, underserved and untapped markets. to promote msme access to finance, the bsp has issued comprehensive credit risk management ( crm ) guidelines so that banks can be more flexible, extend more credit, and implement innovative credit products and lending programs. also, a wide range of microfinance services of banks now cover nearly 1. 7 million microentrepreneurs with an outstanding portfolio of p13 billion. empowering these sectors are not just opportunities to exercise social responsibility, but their inclusion creates viable business propositions. to sum up,... why the philippines? first, the philippines is among the fastest growing and most resilient economies in the region. second, coordinated efforts towards structural reforms and public sector investments in infrastructure and human capital development will make the business climate even more competitive. and third, you can rely on the bsp ’ s staunch commitment and effectiveness in delivering on its core mandates of price and financial stability conducive to economic growth. we are deeply committed to implementing ambitious financial sector reforms. let me end on this note. i wish you a very productive investment forum ahead! thank you! 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches

nestor a espenilla, jr : why the philippines speech by mr nestor a espenilla, jr, governor of bangko sentral ng pilipinas ( bsp, the central bank of the philippines ), at the philippines investment forum, euromoney conferences, 27 november 2017. * * * distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : good morning! i thank euromoney for the invitation to speak at this annual investment forum. my message is simple and straightforward. the philippines today offers viable and strong investment opportunities. the very topics for today ’ s panel discussions point to the key reasons. first, our economic outlook is strong and robust ; second, our capital markets are being deepened and developed ; third, massive infrastructure building gears us for increased growth and development ; fourth, we can rely on aggressive trade and industrial development and fifth, there are untapped markets, the unserved and underserved, such as msmes and the agricultural sector, that present not just the opportunity to exercise social responsibility, but also to create and deliver new products and services. first : the economic outlook the philippines is one of the fastest growing investment - grade rated economies in the region. we realized a better - than - market forecast gdp growth of 6. 9 percent in the third quarter of 2017, our 75th consecutive quarter of uninterrupted economic growth since the asian financial crisis. we are on track to meet this year ’ s target gdp growth of 6. 5 to 7. 5 percent. further economic growth of 7. 0 to 8. 0 percent over the medium term is expected. the sustained economic growth is a product of two decades of structural reforms. amidst this rapid economic development, we expect inflation to remain low and stable and within target. we estimate it will settle at 3. 2 percent this year, 3. 4 percent in 2018, and 3. 2 percent in 2019. to maintain price stability, the bsp adopted the inflation targeting framework in 2002. this has served us well. we continuously refine monetary policy conduct. the implementation of the interest rate corridor system in july 2016 is a manifestation of our commitment. more refinements are coming. these changes are enhancing the transmission channels of monetary policy. the country ’ s external payments position remains manageable and we have built up a strong liquidity buffer against external shocks. at $ 80. 4 billion as of end - october, our gir level can cover 8. 4 months ’ worth of imports of goods and payments