World Bank cuts 2015 PH GDP growth forecast to 5.8%

The Philippine economy will grow at a slower-than-expected pace in 2015 after being dragged down by lackluster government spending and weak demand for the country’s exports in the first half, the World bank said.

In a report released Monday, the World Bank said it still considers the lowered projection for Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth as healthy. The Philippines, which is among Southeast Asia’s five largest economies, is expected to outperform neighbors like Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

For 2015, the Bank said it revised its projection for the Philippines to a growth of 5.8 percent, lower than the previous forecast of 6.5 percent. Next year’s growth is seen at 6.4 percent, before tempering to 6.2 percent in 2017.

“This takes into account the relatively weak first half growth brought about by slow government spending, negative net exports, and the initial impact of El Niño,” the World Bank said in a statement.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.3 percent in the first half of 2015, falling short of the government’s full-year growth target of 7 to 8 percent.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan last week said growth of above 6 percent would still be “quite doable,” given recent efforts to ramp up spending. From 2011 to 2014, full-year GDP growth for the Philippines has stayed above 6 percent.