‘$2B BOP surplus too low’

The central bank’s new forecast of a $2 billion surplus in the Philippine balance of payments (BOP) for 2015, revised upward from a previous projection of $1 billion, may be too low against the country’s potential to generate substantial BOP inflows every month, an analyst with the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said.

“When the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] says the BOP surplus will be $1 billion to $2 billion, that is too low,” Victor Abola, economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), said.