The Philippines must keep An eye on money laundering that results from online gaming and cryptocurrency, even after it is left the dirty money watchDog’s ‘Gray List’, said an analyst.
Choon Hong Chua, Moody’s head of the Financial Crime Practice Group, Asia-Pacific and Middle East, said that the removal of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Gray List of the Financial Action ‘reflects his dedication to its anti-money washing practices (AML) And to strengthen counter terrorism financing (CTF) Frameworks. “
“Leaving the gray list will increase the trust of investors and financial stability. The Philippines have improved the coordination between authorities and have implemented extensive reforms, “he said.
“However, money laundering is not easy to wipe out completely. Companies such as online gaming and cryptocurrency would be areas outside the financial sector that would constantly require supervision to reduce potential risks, “he added.
Online gaming has become popular in the Philippines in recent years. Data from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) showed income in 2024 a record -high P112 billion, with the electronic games sector half or P48.79 billion.
The FATF eventually removed the Philippines from the gray list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for dirt money after a successful visit on the spot that the country completed its action plan.
The Philippine government is convinced that the removal from the gray list will help increase investments and to expand trading partnerships that will stimulate economic growth.
However, a Citi -economist said that the output of the gray list is not sufficient to encourage investments in important sectors such as production.
“It is clear that it is great to be out of the gray list, but I don’t think this will necessarily translate into meaningful detour options in production, because it clearly requires much more,” Chua said in an interview Money talks to Cathy Yang On one news on Monday.
The Philippines were on the gray list of the FATF for more than three years or since June 2021.
“It’s great to get out of the gray list, but we need more to have a kind of ecosystem for production, including a better established infrastructure and supply chain ecosystem,” said Mrs. Chua.
“That is clearly not a competitive advantage for the Philippines. The Philippines are really more for services, “she added.
The Philippines registered for $ 37.4 billion in the export of services in the first nine months of 2024, an increase of 6.25% compared to a year earlier, according to data from the Central Bank.
In 2024, the export of services increased by 8.3%, according to data from the Local Statistics Authority. It was also good for 13% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Mrs Chua mentioned India as an example, where there have been significant expenditure for public capital for infrastructure in recent years.
The government is committed to spending 5-6% of GDP on infrastructure annually.
In the meantime, former financial and socio -economic planning secretary Jesus P. Estanislao said that the exit of the Philippines from the gray list is a ‘very positive development’.
“It was a great shame for the Philippines to be on that list for so many years. And now what we say to the rest of the world is that we are part of you, and we do not want to be part of money laundering, financing or criminal activities. “
“We want to clean up our system, and I am happy that we have succeeded in convincing them in our efforts to clean up our system. This is great news, “he said.
This also shows that the Philippines will become a “much more transparent economy”.
“We tell the world that we would like to be part of the global financial system, which fights against financing for terrorism, fighting money laundering, and all Shenanigans who are going on with the international financial system,” MR, ” .
Rates
In the meantime, Mrs. Chua said that the Philippines are one of the economies that are most isolated by the tariff plans of the United States.
“In Asia, you know, I think the Philippines are kind of second for India to be relatively the most isolated of the rate sound. One of the benefits that India has is that there has been a lot of interest in the diversion of investments in production, “she said.
Markets are braced for the potential impact of the trade policy of US President Donald J. Trump, such as mutual rates for all countries that tax the import of the US.
Since he took office in January in January, Mr Trump has already made a rate of 10% on Chinese goods, as well as the tasks on all steel and aluminum imports from March.
“Much of the rate sound seems, apart from China, much more sectoral and focused and is really seen as a pretext for negotiation,” she added.
In the meantime, Mrs. Chua said that it is “not far -fetched” for the Philippines to grow nearly 6% this year.
“We project Filipino growth will only be a bit shy of 6%, which is 5.9%, which is generally still a very solid growth rate that we have seen compared to many emerging market countries,” she added .
This year, economic managers are focusing on 6-8% of GDP growth.
The Filipino economy grew by 5.6% in 2024, short of the objective of 6.5% of the government. – Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson