By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, Jan. 30 (PNA) — The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year growth to 7.2 percent in 2013, making the Philippines still one of Asia’s best performing economies.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the fourth quarter and full-year economic growth surpassed the expectations of both the public and private sectors.
“This is a remarkable turnout: the economy grew better than our expected target of 6 to 7 percent for 2013 despite the challenges we faced during the year, particularly the disasters that struck Central and Southern Philippines in the fourth quarter,” he said.
Balisacan noted that the economy might have grown at a faster rate of 7 percent to 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter if not for the impact powerful typhoon “Yolanda”.
“Nonetheless, the Philippines remains as one of the best performing economies in the Asian region in the fourth quarter of 2013, second only to China, which grew by 7.7 percent,” he said.
The fourth-quarter economic growth was mainly driven by the continued expansion of the services and industry sectors.
The services sector, which contributed 3.6 percent to the overall GDP, sustained a 6.5-percent growth in October to December 2013.
Balisacan credited the expansion of the services sector largely to the strong demand for communications, land and air transportation, and storage and services incidental to transport.
On the supply side, the sector’s growth was mainly propelled by manufacturing, trade, finance and real estate.
The industry sector, however, posted a slower growth of 8.4 percent from 8.9 percent. The sector shared 2.8 percent to GDP growth.
“…Manufacturing served as the frontrunner, posting double-digit growth of 12.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013… Manufacturing continues to get a boost from related sectors and a growing export demand,” said Balisacan.
He pointed that construction had the biggest setback in the fourth quarter due to stricter rules imposed on real estate lending in compliance with prudential regulations, and the tightening of mass housing incentives.
The growth of the agriculture sector, meanwhile, slowed to 1.1 percent from 4.9 percent. The sector only represented 0.1 percent in the GDP in the fourth quarter.
Balisacan, also the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General, attributed the sector’s growth slowdown to the effects of Yolanda which have severely affected the agricultural supply in Visayas.
With the better-than-expected growth rate last year, the NEDA chief said that government economic planners are maintaining a 6.5 to 7.5-percent GDP target for 2014 despite the lingering impact on growth of typhoon Yolanda in the first quarter.
“But we are optimistic that the Philippine economy will remain strong in 2014, especially that the outlook on the global economy is becoming more favorable and as the domestic economy remains robust,” Balisacan stressed.
He said the government is optimistic about the sustained growth of the domestic economy.
“With indications of recovery from the global economic crisis, we believe the Philippine economy, particularly the industry sector, is in a very good position to take advantage of wider export markets, as the government continues to implement reforms to reduce the cost of doing business in the country,” he added. (PNA)