BEST ASIAN FINANCE MINISTER
Roberto De Ocampo, Philippines
Over the past year, Roberto De Ocampo has more than vindicated his award of 1995's Euromoney Finance Minister of the Year. He goes from strength to strength, as part of a team under President Fidel Ramos that has brought the Philippines from being the sick man of Asia to become one of its star performers.
The 50-year-old De Ocampo has consolidated his position as secretary of finance since he took control in 1994, and has won the respect of the international markets. The economy is growing fast: GDP climbed at an annual rate of 7.1% in the first half of this year, buoyed by exports which grew 20%. In its fifth consecutive year of economic growth, the country is now on course to become the fastest-growing economy in the Asean region. Even so, growth appears to be sustainable and, in contrast to previous boom-and-bust cycles, exports rather than consumption are driving the economy. Inflation is under control, slowing to single digits in August, and the fiscal deficit has been held in check as discretionary spending has been cut.