The Philippines' capital city of Manila from above (Photo:VNA)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its economic growth outlook for the Philippines this year to 6.2 percent from its earlier forecast of 6.7 percent, announced the Philippine media.
According to IMF Resident Representative for the Philippines Shanaka Jayaneth Peiris, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast was modified downwards due to GDP adjustments in the first quarter and the lagging global economy.
In the first three months of the year, GDP growth was trimmed to 5 percent from the initial forecast of 5.2 percent.
Economic growth stood at 5.6 percent from April-June, bringing the economy in the first six months to 5.3 percent.
This is far below its target of 7 percent for the whole year, Peiris said, highlighting that in a bid to realise its set goal, the country needs to strive for 8 percent growth in the last two quarters.
Peiris also said that the below-expected performance was due to global factors, including temporary factors such as agricultural recessions affected by El Nino and slowdowns in exports and public spending.
However, the IMF remains optimistic about the Philippine economy, as it believes the temporary exogenous factors will dissipate at the end of this year.
The organisation said that the Philippine economy is expected to grow at a speed of 6.5 percent given that the government is addressing infrastructure gaps, unemployment and income inequality.-VNA
