00:00While the country's regulatory body for franchising admitted that the recent move by the U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs will have a muted effect on franchise brands, the group reported that the country's franchising sector is expected to grow by up to 10%.
00:18These and more in tonight's Business Wrap from the Philippine News Agency.
00:22Shifting to business headlines, the country's franchising sector is expected to grow by up to 10% with a revenue of about P800 billion.
00:39The Philippine Franchise Association or PFA has expressed optimism about the industry's growth this year amid uncertainties in the market with the food segment being the main driver.
00:49PFA Chair Christopher Lim noted that the reciprocal tariffs from the U.S. will have a muted effect on Philippine franchise brands as players have diversified their supply base.
01:01PFA Director Shedel Quintana says there are around 120,000 Filipino franchise outlets to date, still lower than the pre-pandemic level of about 200,000 franchise stores.
01:11The franchise sector has created around 2 million jobs and contributed 7.2% to the Philippine economy to date.
01:19Meanwhile, Social Economic Planning Chief Arsenio Balisakan foresees the Philippines rising to an upper-middle income economy even despite the anticipated global growth slowdown brought by a brewing trade war.
01:32The Secretary of the Incoming Department of Economy Planning and Development anticipates that the country would graduate to upper-middle income country status by next year.
01:44Balisakan says this is assuming that the country's gross domestic product will expand by 6%, the lower end of the Marcos administration's growth target this year.
01:54He noted that the Philippines is unlikely to hit the higher end of the target due to the U.S. reciprocal tariffs causing global uncertainties.
02:03The Philippines is classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle income economy with a gross national income per capita at $3,950 as of 2022.
02:15That's a wrap for this week's MISCUS Headlines.
02:17Happy weekend everyone from the Philippine News Agency.
02:20I'm Bench Bondok for Balitang Pambanisa.
