MANILA, Nov. 11 (PNA) — An economist of HSBC forecasts the Philippine economy to remain strong although output is seen to be lower than in recent years at 5.5 percent given the negative external factors.
“It (the forecast) is weaker than markets expect but it is still favorable,” HSCB economist Joseph Incalcaterra said in a briefing Wednesday.
The government’s growth target for 2015-16 is a range between seven to eight percent.
In the first half of the year, the domestic economy grew, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), by 5.3 percent, lower than year-ago’s 6.9 percent given the slowdown in the first quarter of the year.
Growth in the first three months of the year decelerated to five percent from quarter-ago’s 6.9 percent and year-ago’s 5.6 percent.
The lower output was traced to lower-than-expected net exports and government spending. (PNA)