Rafael Buenaventura: Laying the foundation for a progressive financial system Speech by Mr Rafael Buenaventura, Governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines), at The Asset Forum, ASEAN Capital Markets Forum Series, Makati City, 20 October 2004. *  *  *  Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.
As long as this dichotomy within the German economy persists, the underlying cyclical trend will likely remain weak. Going forward, our economic experts thus anticipate that the soft patch will last a little longer. But given that exports will regain traction, economic activity will pick up in the second half of the year.