Philippines: Economy grows 6.1 percent in 2014

The Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hit 6.9 percent during the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to 6.3 percent in the same period of 2013, according to official statistics announced on January 29.
The Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hit 6.9 percent during thefourth quarter of 2014 compared to 6.3 percent in the same period of2013, according to official statistics announced on January 29.

The fourth quarter’s growth appears to be broad-base as all threemajor productive sectors have shown positive and robust growth,according to Arsenio Balisacan, head of the National Economic andDevelopment Authority.

It fueled growth of 6.1 percent forthe whole year, which was below the government’s goal of 6.5-7.5 percentbut higher than the previous forecast of the World Bank (WB) andInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).

On a full-year basis, the Philippines posted the second fastest growth in Asia, after China with 7.4 percent.

With this upbeat yearend performance, the economy is anticipated to gain further traction in 2015, he added.

Analysts forecast that the country’s economy will grow sharply in2015 due to benefits gained from the falling oil prices while thecentral bank will hold low interest rate until the fourth quarter of2015.

The Philippine government has set a 7-8 percent growth goal for 2015.-VNA

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