MANILA, Philippines – Citigroup economist Jun Trinidad has urged government to invest more on infrastructure, improve the quality of institutions and raise savings rates in order for the Philippines to become a global growth generator country.

With the country's gross domestic product (GDP) projected to hit 5.5 percent this year, Citigroup is forecasting that the Philippines could become a global growth generator in the next few years.

The bank identified the Philippines as one of the eleven global growth generator countries which also included Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Some of the indicators used to come up with the global growth generator index include the quality of institutions and policies, trade openness, domestic savings and investments, demographic prospects, health and education.

In order for the bank’s forecast to come to fruition, Trinidad said the Philippines should pass the public-private partnership (PPP) law and other measures that could support its economic growth. The former refers to the amended version of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) law. (EHL)