PH economy seen growing by 7% this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine economy is likely to grow by at least 7 percent this year, aided by additional spending for post-Supertyphoon “Yolanda” reconstruction, First Metro Investment Corp. said Monday.

“We believe fundamentals will remain strong in 2014 as the country will benefit from the recovery of the global economy, particularly the U.S. and emergence of eurozone from recession. We expect emerging markets to stabilize in the next two years,” FMIC president Roberto Juanchito Dispo said at a press briefing.

The global economic rebound will in turn support the recovery in the export market while business process outsourcing and overseas Filipino remittances would continue to support domestic demand, Dispo said, supporting a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7 to 7.5 percent this 2014. At the same time, he said, massive rehabilitation work in the aftermath of Yolanda would drive growth due to the multiplier effect.

Economist Victor Abola of the University of Asia and the Pacific, FMIC’s partner in macroeconomic research, said the additional spending for Yolanda reconstruction would add at least 1.2 percentage points to GDP this year, bringing full year GDP average to 7.3 percent.

The outlook for 2014 was thus seen as favorable despite a potential 2 percent drop in agricultural output caused by natural calamities in 2013.

The Philippine economy has sustained a growth of at least 7 percent in the last five consecutive quarters.