Curative, Preventive Health Seen as Sunrise Industry Post-Pandemic

Leading economist Dr. Bernardo Villegas said that the Philippines will be one of the countries that can recover faster from the impact of the pandemic, citing the health sector as an area for growth.

“The Philippines will be one of the least negatively affected in a global recession,” Dr. Villegas said at the “Prospects for the Philippine Economy in 2020 and Beyond” webinar sponsored by Allianz PNB Life.

The global insurer has been sponsoring talks about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on life and business. Prior to Dr. Villegas’ talk, Allianz PNB Life sponsored a webinar on the pandemic’s impact on the universal healthcare system with Reach52 founder and CEO Edward Booty.

In Dr. Villegas’ talk, he pointed out that considering the health concerns that have been raised during the pandemic, “anything related to health—curative or preventive” will be given a higher priority.

This includes opportunities for the insurance industry that provides security through various health insurance products covering medical expenses and even preventive medicine as well as life insurance with accident and death benefits.

Along with the health sector, agribusiness is likewise seen as the country’s leading sunrise industry post-pandemic. Opportunities are also seen for the digital industry and education.

There are some sectors, however, that will experience difficulty in recovering. Dr. Villegas said these include the travel and tourism industry, fashion, furnishings, and non-digital entertainment.

“Anything considered luxurious will take a back seat,” he said.

However, domestic travel might be able to bounce back.

Dr. Villegas likewise said that “greater emphasis” should be given to areas that can be the next Metro Manila. These include Batangas, Central Luzon, and Iloilo.

If the country will not experience a second wave of the pandemic, Dr. Villegas projects a 2.7 percent growth rate for the economy.

Opportunities for the Philippine economy are spurred by our young and growing English-speaking population against the aging labor force and demographic crisis in developed countries; rebalancing between China and other Asian economies like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and our ASEAN neighbors; heavy government spending on infrastructure; and foreign direct investment from China to Southeast Asia, among others.

“By 2021, we can be back to our 6 to 7 percent trajectory,” Dr. Villegas said”.

About Allianz in Asia

Asia is one of the core growth regions for Allianz, characterized by a rich diversity of cultures, languages and customs. Allianz has been present in the region since 1910, when it first provided fire and marine insurance in the coastal cities of China.

Today, Allianz is active in 14 markets in the region, offering its core businesses of property and casualty insurance, life, protection and health solutions, as well as asset management. With its more than 32,000 staff, Allianz serves the needs of over 18 million customers in the region across multiple distribution channels and digital platforms.

About Allianz

The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 92 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life and health insurance to assistance services to credit insurance and global business insurance. Allianz is one of the world’s largest investors, managing around 673 billion euros on behalf of its insurance customers. Furthermore our asset managers PIMCO and Allianz Global Investors manage more than 1.4 trillion euros of third-party assets. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we hold the leading position for insurers in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2018, over 142,000 employees in more than 80 countries achieved total revenues of 131 billion euros and an operating profit of 11.5 billion euros for the group. These assessments are, as always, subject to the disclaimer provided below.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

The statements contained herein may include prospects, statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.

Such deviations may arise due to, without limitation, (i) changes of the general economic conditions and competitive situation, particularly in the Allianz Group's core business and core markets, (ii) performance of financial markets (particularly market volatility, liquidity and credit events), (iii) frequency and severity of insured loss events, including from natural catastrophes, and the development of loss expenses, (iv) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi) particularly in the banking business, the extent of credit defaults, (vii) interest rate levels, (viii) currency exchange rates including the EUR/USD  exchange rate, (ix) changes in laws and regulations, including tax regulations, (x) the impact of acquisitions, including related integration issues, and reorganization measures, and (xi) general competitive factors, in each case on a local, regional, national and/or global basis. Many of these factors may be more likely to occur, or more pronounced, as a result of terrorist activities and their consequences.

No duty to update

The company assumes no obligation to update any information or forward-looking statement contained herein, save for any information required to be disclosed by law.

Privacy Note

Allianz SE is committed to protecting your personal data. Find out more in our Privacy Statement.