MANILA: The Philippine economy grew 7.1% in the third quarter year-on-year, exceeding expectations and making it the best performer in Southeast Asia, according to (Inquirer.net).
The country's economic growth was the strongest in Asia during the period after China.
"We are well on our way to surpassing our growth target of 5% to 6% this year," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told reporters on Wednesday.
Balisacan said the high growth of the gross domestic product (GDP), the value of goods produced and services rendered in a given period, was expected to translate to more jobs and better incomes for Filipinos.
"The Philippines is the diamond of the region this year," said Enrico Tanuwidjaja, economist for Southeast Asia at RBS in Singapore.
Indonesia was the second-best performer in Asean with 6.2% growth, followed by Malaysia (5.2%), Vietnam (4.7%), Thailand (3%) and Singapore (0.3%). China posted a 7.7% GDP growth.
Balisacan said the third-quarter performance of the Philippine economy was way above the market’s media forecast of 5.4%.
The growth momentum is expected to continue next year as government works to ease the cost of doing business and as more infrastructure projects under the private-public partnership scheme get underway, he said. (QNA)
