By Joann Santiago
MANILA, April 24 (PNA) — Sustained improvement of government spending and infrastructure investment among others made Moody’s Analytics forecast a 7.3 percent expansion of the Philippine economy in the first quarter of 2015.
This projection is higher than the 6.9 percent of the domestic economy churned in the last quarter of 2014, which is a recovery after a sustained slip in the previous three quarters.
In a report, the division of Moody’s that is engaged in economic research and analysis, said growth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), “likely ticked up a notch in the March quarter.”
”Higher infrastructure investment and government spending, alongside robust domestic demand, make the Philippines one of Asia’s strongest performing economies,” it said.
” Electronics account for half of the nation’s exports, and they improved through the first quarter thanks to improved U.S. tech demand,” it added.
The country’s electronics exports posted a 10.9 percentyear-on-year growth in February 2015 with total receipts amounting to USD 1.97 billion.
It accounted for 43.7 percent of the total exports revenues of the country in the second month of the year.
Economic managers are positive for a strong rebound of domestic growth this year after delays in government spending, especially on Yolanda rehabilitation.
The government’s growth target for this year is a range between seven to eight percent.
Last year, the economy posted a 6.1 percent growth, lower than the 6.5-7.5 percent growth target of the government primarily due to the impact of Manila port congestion after the Manila City government implemented an expanded truck ban from February to September lastyear. (PNA)