The Philippines is a developing country. As a crane supplier that provides crane services to the world, we pay special attention to the development of the Philippines. This is not only because the Philippines is in a critical era of infrastructure construction, the industrialization and urbanization of the Philippines also require the help of countless cranes. In the past 2021, our export of various types of cranes to the Philippines has experienced high growth, thanks to the fact that while the global manufacturing industry is shrinking, China’s manufacturing industry remains safe and stable. Among the customers in the Philippines with strong demand for cranes, customers in the construction industry account for a high proportion. If we want to continue to gain the trust and attention of Philippine customers, we must have a clearer understanding of the future development trend of the Philippine construction industry. We have always been open to Filipino customers in terms of getting to know each other.

Chinese cranes at the Philippine International Construction Machinery Exhibition

Chinese cranes at the Philippine International Construction Machinery Exhibition

Outlook for the Philippine construction industry from the perspective of crane suppliers
After witnessing a decline of 30.3% in 2020, the Philippine construction industry is expected to record growth of 12.7% in real terms this year, supported by improving investor confidence and investment in transport, renewable energy, residential and commercial infrastructure projects. This is a downwards revision of the previously estimated 21.9% growth in 2021, due to the impact of the wave of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infections on economic activity in late Q2, and into Q3 2021. GlobalData expects the industry to record growth of 20.7% in 2022, driven by an improvement of economic conditions, consumer and business confidence and foreign direct investment. Prominent downside risks to the outlook in 2022 include the uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of the Omicron variant, and whether it may force a tightening of restrictions, inhibiting the recovery of the construction industry and potentially weighing on the tentative improvement of business and investor confidence. Between 2023 and 2025, the Philippine construction industry is forecast to record a real annual average growth of 7.6%, with real construction output expected to surpass its pre-pandemic value by 2023.

Supporting forecast-period growth will be the government’s PHP5 trillion (US$100.8 billion) 2022 proposed budget, which focuses on improving healthcare infrastructure and increasing investment in public and digital infrastructure. In addition, the government is focusing on the development of renewable energy projects, in line with its target to increase the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix to 50% by 2040, and add additional power generation capacity of 43GW by 2040. Forecast-period growth will also be supported by the government’s “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program. Under the BBB program, the government have outlined plans to invest PHP9.0 trillion (US$170.5 billion) on developing infrastructure between 2017 and 2022, predominantly roads, railways, airports, bridges and seaports. Long-run growth will be driven by the AmBisyon Natin 2040 programme, which promotes the development of affordable housing, transport and renewable energy infrastructure.

The relationship between Philippine infrastructure construction and China
President Duterte is committed to reForming the Philippine economy and has held a series of measures. In terms of economic development, Duterte called on the parliament to pass a new tax reForm bill as soon as possible. The government will reduce corporate income tax from 30% to 25% within 10 years. In addition, investment in industries such as infrastructure and research and development may also enjoy additional tax breaks, thereby increasing employment and reducing poverty.

On the other hand, it has launched all-round cooperation with Chinese enterprises. According to Chinese statistics, in 2020, the value of new contracts signed by China in the Philippines was US$9.60 billion, a year-on-year increase of 53.8%; the completed turnover was US$2.83 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.4%. China’s contracted projects in the Philippines generally show a good trend of intergovernmental projects and commercial projects going hand in hand and promoting each other. The Sino-Philippine intergovernmental cooperation projects have yielded fruitful results. Among the projects initiated by President Duterte since his administration, 12 projects have been fully completed; the two bridges over the Pasig River in Manila and the Agro-Technology Center in the Philippines have been smoothly advanced, and some projects It is expected to be completed by the end of 2021; commercial contracts have been signed for major infrastructure projects such as the Manila Three Bridge Project, the Davao-Samal Island Bridge Project, the Mindanao Flood Control Project, and the Souk Railway.

We believe that in the future, with the improvement of the infrastructure in the Philippines, the economy will rise steadily, and industries with strong demand for lifting equipment, such as the manufacturing and processing industry and the construction industry, will continue to drive the prosperity and development of the crane market.

How will the demand for cranes in the Philippine construction industry change in 2022