Privately employed economists believe the country’s local output growth, measured as the GDP, exceeded 6 percent in the second quarter, their optimism based on stronger exports and government spending during the period.
In a recent forecast on Asia-Pacific economies, Moody’s Analytics economist Jack Chambers said the Philippines’s GDP accelerated to 6.8 percent in the
April-to-June quarter.
“The main boost will come from exports, which have been expanding rapidly in recent months largely because of stronger shipments of electronics,” Chambers said.
“Meanwhile, domestic factors have remained conducive to strong growth. Private consumption will grow rapidly for the foreseeable future thanks to rising incomes and favorable demographics,” the economist added.
Chambers’s forecast is an acceleration from the 6.4-percent GDP expansion in the first quarter.
Singapore’s DBS Bank economist Gundy Cahyadi, meanwhile, said growth actually slowed to only 6.2 percent in the same period instead, although he was optimistic on the country’s prospects the rest of the year.
“Going by the government’s monthly budget expenditure, it is clear to us that government spending has accelerated, from 4 percent in the first quarter of 2017 to more than 13 percent in the second quarter. This is likely to be supportive of overall GDP growth,” Cahyadi said.
The Singapore-based economist said GDP was likely to average only 6.4 percent by year’s end.
Economists also believe investments will likely play a more significant role down the line.
“What is more interesting, however, is to see how investment growth fared in the period. While we continue to see double-digit growth in investments, the moderation in numbers is likely to have continued, partly due to the high base effects,” Cahyadi said.
Chambers, meanwhile, believes investment will expand rapidly in the year as a result of a mixture of private and government projects.
The Philippine Statistics Authority is set to release the country’s second-quarter GDP data last Friday.