Damage caused by natural disasters and falling public spending have
pushed the economic growth of the Philippines down to 5.3 percent in the
third quarter of 2014, the lowest level in three years, according to
the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA).
Philippine Economic
Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributed typhoon damage and weak
performance in some key sectors to the slowed GDP growth. However, he
said that the country’s performance ranked fourth in Asia, followed by
China, Vietnam and Malaysia.
With a modest growth of 5.8
percent in the first nine months, the Philippines is likely to fail
to meet the yearly target of 6.5-7.5 percent, he said.
Balisacan
criticised the prolonged negative impacts of super typhoon Haiyan as
well as the delay of the government post-typhoon reconstruction
programme in devastated areas.
However, he still expressed his
optimism on the economy, saying that the export turnover rose sharply in
the third quarter thanks to the support of the global manufacturing
industry’s recovery, boosting the country’s key exports of
semiconductors, wiring harnesses and garments.-VNA