Ex-NEDA chief briefs Holcim customers on 2015 biz prospects

Former NEDA Director General Cayetano Paderanga, Jr. briefs Holcim Philippines’s customers on the prospects for the construction industry in 2015.

As part of its efforts to help customers prepare for the year ahead, cement manufacturer Holcim Philippines. Inc. recently gathered nearly 600 of its clients nationwide at the Manila Hotel to share insights on the business prospects for 2015.

Cayetano Paderanga, Jr., the former socio-economic planning secretary of the Aquino administration and a member of the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, shared a positive assessment of the construction industry for the upcoming year.

Paderanga said the Philippines’s steady economic expansion, stable banking system, robust remittance inflows and strong outsourcing sector will help sustain the construction industry’s rise. He added that the government’s plan to step up infrastructure spending as well as the bullishness of the private sector will drive growth.

“The economy has what it takes to maintain at least 5% growth on the back of traditional growth drivers,” said the former director general of the National Economic Development Authority. “Increased economic activity suggests continued growth in the construction sector.”

Over the medium term, Paderanga expects the construction industry to grow by 6% to 8% citing the government’s commitment to upgrade the country’s infrastructure and the private sector’s continued roll-out of projects.

Aside from Paderanga, Holcim Philippines also invited motivational speakers Randell Tiongson and Chinkee Tan to talk about financial planning and the benefits of a positive mindset, respectively.

Holcim Philippines’s officials, meanwhile shared the 2014 accomplishments and the upcoming initiatives to deliver better services to customers, and the other ways the company would support their businesses particularly on the supply chain and commercial sides.