PCCI: Brexit will affect Philippines if US is affected

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will only be affected by the British exit, or Brexit, from the EU if the United States will be affected, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.

 

"If it affects the United States, then we are affected but I think the prognosis is it won't affect if they leave. I know that it will affect generally our European market because I don't think it will be good for the EU if they exit," PCCI chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis said in an interview with ANC's Market Edge of Friday.

 

Luis, however, said that the Philippines's relationship with Britain will not be affected if they leave the EU.

 

"If it affects the relationship with other EU countries then I think there is a danger," Luis said.

 

He noted that Britain is one of the biggest foreign trade investors in the country.

 

On Friday, Britain has voted to leave the 28-nation European Union in a historic referendum. Fifty-two percent voted for the country's departure from the union, while stay votes were at 48 percent. The voter turnout was at 72 percent.

 

The same day, the pound plummeted more than 10 percent in six hours — its biggest one-day falls in history — as concerns over Britain's exit in the EU will hurt the UK economy.

 

The International Monetary Fund, US Federal Reserve and Bank of England had warned that the exit would affect the world economy, which is still recovering from the 2008 global crisis. But it is still too early to see if their predictions will come to pass. — with reports from Associated Press