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Philippine Central Bank to Decide on Rates From a Beach

Central Bank to Decide on Rates From a Beach, Showing Worst Over for Philippines

The white-sand Boracay island resort will serve as backdrop for Philippine central bank officials when they decide on key interest rates Thursday, signaling that the worst may be over for the Southeast Asian nation.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno will announce the rate decision from Boracay at 3 p.m. Manila time, during his first in-person media briefing since the pandemic. The central bank, which has been holding virtual briefings for over a year, will also host lectures on the economy from the tourist area via Zoom, according to a schedule from its communications office.

“It’s been two years since the pandemic hit us and I’m glad that we’re slowly getting a sense of normalcy back,” Diokno told central bankers and members of the media at a welcome dinner on Wednesday. “This is our small contribution to the normalization of the economy.”

Boracay, which was second in Conde Nast Traveler’s 25 best island beaches in the world in a 2020 readers’ survey, has reopened to fully-vaccinated local tourists without requiring them a negative Covid-19 swab test result. Falling Covid-19 cases, accelerating vaccination rate and the push to stimulate economic growth have led to looser movement rules in the past weeks.

“With the policy direction and likely decision already telegraphed, perhaps the governor is also hoping to signal that normalcy can be attained, if we follow strict protocols and minimum health standards,” Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Groep in Manila, said.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.