Philippine GDP to Grow 6.9%

The Philippines “will remain a top performer” in East Asia and the Pacific, the World Bank said, even as it flagged risks that include rising global interest rates that could weaken the peso, crimp capital flows and stoke inflation, as well as fiscal risks as the state ramps up spending while flagship tax reforms aimed at raking in more funds for government struggle through congress.

The Philippine economic update released Tuesday showed the World Bank keeping a 6.9% projection for Philippine gross domestic product growth for 2017 (penciled in December and January, up from 6.2% given in April and October) against the government’s own 6.5-7.5% target, cutting 2018’s outlook to also 6.9% (from the 7% given in December and January, up from the 6.2% projected in October) and raising the forecast for 2019 to 6.8% (from the 6.7% projected in January), Business World reported.

Birgit Hansl, the World Bank’s program leader and lead economist for the Philippines, East Asia and Pacific, said in a press briefing Tuesday at the lender’s headquarters in the country in Taguig City that there were “no specific reasons” for the changes in growth projections, which resulted from mere statistical adjustments. “For us, it’s just the same outlook,” Hansl told reporters.

The multilateral lender’s 2018 and 2019 forecasts compare to the 7-8% targeted by this administration until it ends its term in mid-2022.

GDP grew by an upwardly revised 6.9% last year, fueled by public and private investments, higher state expenditures, spending related to the May elections and a slight rebound in farm production that added to the lift provided by consistently strong household consumption.