Karl Kendrick T. Chua

Mr. Chua is a former Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority and Undersecretary for Strategy, Economics, and Results at the Department of Finance. He has extensive experience in the areas of economic and fiscal policy, statistical development, national identification, labor and social protection policy, poverty analysis, and digital transformation, among others.

Mr. Chua was a senior official in the Government of the Philippines for six years. As Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning and Chief Economist of the country, he provided strategic leadership on economic policy during the Covid-19 pandemic and the further liberalization of key sectors of the economy. He also oversaw the implementation of the national ID program.

He is currently an adviser for the World Bank’s World Development Report and a member of the Selection Committee of the Asian Development Bank and International Economic Association Innovative Policy Research Award. He is also a board adviser to LH Paragon Group of Companies and consultant for the Bank of the Philippine Islands.

As Undersecretary in the Department of Finance, he led the technical team in the passage of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program and the Rice Tariffication Law. Prior to joining the government, he was with the World Bank for 12 years and was the senior economist for the Philippines.

Mr. Chua graduated from the Ateneo De Manila University in 2000 with a degree in B.S. Management Engineering. He earned his M.A. Economics (2003) and Ph.D Economics (2011) from the University of the Philippines, and is currently studying data science at the Asian Institute of Management