this month. the review points to a key message – that a lot has been done by national authorities and that change is taking place in the major firms. however, differences remain in the approach to and pace of implementation. greater progress has been achieved in the areas of governance, supervisory oversight and disclosure of compensation, while much more work needs to be done on pay structures and risk - alignment. we will be setting out additional recommendations in this area later in march. concluding remarks at the outset, i noted that international cooperation and national / regional political leadership are complementary drivers for achieving global financial reform. together, we have come a long way. but 2010 will be a critical year as we press ahead with global financial reforms. to maintain the momentum, we are critically dependent on your support. indeed, internationally coordinated reforms cannot be agreed nor implemented without the support of national political leaders and those who are in a position to make final decisions. your decisions, and those or your colleagues in other jurisdictions, will determine whether we are able to build a more robust and consistent global financial order necessary to preserve the advantages of an integrated financial system. beyond the policy development work, full and consistent implementation will take time and perseverance. as i said, we must keep our eyes on the end objective, and we will develop transition paths to take us there. as we work to improve international cooperation and to further financial reforms, i hope we can count on the political support and leadership of all of you in this room. thank you very much.

expressed higher growth prospects for the philippines for 2020. shortly after the release of the fourth quarter ( q4 ) 2019 gdp number last january 23, morgan stanley, barclays, hsbc, pnb, and nomura also released their 2020 growth projections for the philippine economy, which ranged from 6. 0 percent to 6. 7 percent. what are the key factors supporting this optimism? first, the philippine economy continues to be resilient and sustainable some key economic indicators in 2019 show that the country ’ s macroeconomic robust fundamentals remained intact. this is evident in the better - than - expected real gdp growth of 6. 4 percent it posted in q4 2019, supported by accelerated government spending. this indicates that 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches the economy has fully regained its momentum and is now back on track with its medium - term growth targets. the 2019 gdp outturn was close to the lower end of the government ’ s growth target range of 6. 0 percent – 6. 5 percent in 2019. overall, the domestic economy in 2019 continued to be a picture of stability and resilience characterized by : • sustained growth momentum ; • favorable inflation environment ; • ample liquidity and credit ; • robust external position ; • sound and stable banking system ; and • modest fiscal deficit. let me expound on these. gdp growth bounced strongly during the fourth quarter, which compensated for the weak expansion registered during the first half of the year. the q4 2019 gdp outturn of 6. 4 percent was driven largely by the ramping up of government spending ( 18. 7 percent ), alongside sustained robust household consumption ( 5. 6 percent ). accelerated government spending was evident as public construction rose sharply by 33. 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. on the supply side, growth was propped by the 7. 9 % growth in the services sector on the back of solid expansion in public administration and defense, financial intermediation, trade, and other services. the industry sector also contributed positively to the q4 2019 output growth. second, inflation environment has been generally low and stable. a key factor to the domestic demand in 2019 was the favorable inflation environment in the country, supported by well - calibrated monetary policy actions. inflation in 2019 settled at average year - on - year headline inflation of 2. 5 percent supported mainly by the decelerating food inflation. this was lower than the 2018 inflation average of 5. 2 percent amid. the 2019 inflation number was