Economy

MANILA – The Philippine economy could grow by almost six percent this year thanks to improving business optimism despite a series of destructive storms in recent months, officials said Monday.

UNCTAD Report explores the links between income distribution, growth and development, arguing that inequality is neither a necessary condition for sound economic growth, nor its natural result. Pro-active fiscal and income policies to reduce income gaps influence economic growth.

The Philippines is truly on the right path, according to Aquino and is on the way of filling up the half-full glass. President Aquino yesterday expressed confidence that the country is likely to reach the 5 percent to 6 percent gross domestic product (GDP) target, citing that different industries are doing well as seen in…

Economists Romeo L. Bernardo and Margarita D. Gonzales, in a Sept. 11, report upgraded their full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 5.8% from 5.5%, near the high end of government’s 5-6% target.

The Philippines appears to be moving at a snail’s pace compared with its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) as the region nears the 2015 deadline for economic integration.

MANILA – Asean market integration by 2015 would likely be a challenge for the Philippines, as Manila appears to be more “wobbly” now than eight years ago compared with its neighbors in the region, the former secretary-general of the National Statistical Coordination Board said on Tuesday.

SINGAPORE-based DBS Ltd. again upgraded its 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the Philippines, but lowered the outlook for next year’s economic expansion. In its daily research note called Daily Breakfast on Monday, DBS said it now expects the Philippine economy to grow by 5.6% this year from a previous outlook of 5.3% “on…

MANILA – The Philippines is capable of hitting the high end of its economic growth projection for this year of 5 percent to 6 percent, but this growth assumption should have been accompanied by higher revenues that could have bolstered spending for this year, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department said.

VLADIVOSTOK – President Aquino hinted here late Saturday that he would push ahead with bold reforms he initiated in government, especially since the Filipino masses have shown their trust in him through his sustained high ratings. Speaking to Manila-based reporters, Aquino said he was always conscious of his mandate, and that he was just an…

MANILA, Philippines – The economy has been doing well on the first two years of the Aquino administration, climbing up to achieve inclusive growth by introducing reforms recognized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as vital to alleviating poverty, the organization’s new resident representative in the country said.

There are hopes that reconstruction in areas affected by last year’s quake will boost long term growth. Japan has revised down its growth numbers for the second quarter, raising concerns about a slowdown in the world’s third-largest economy.

President Hu said the underlying impact of the international financial crisis is far from over. Chinese President Hu Jintao has promised to maintain economic growth to support a global recovery, at the start of an Asia-Pacific summit in the Russian port city of Vladivostok.

SWISS FINANCIAL services firm UBS AG has hiked its 2012 growth forecast for the Philippines to 5.8% after the economy remained strong in the second quarter. “Philippine real GDP (gross domestic product) expanded 5.9% on the year, beating consensus expectations of 5.5% and our own forecast of 3.7%…” UBS said in a research note released…

BANGKOK — In western Thailand, bulldozers will soon clear land for a highway into Myanmar. In the Philippines, another Manila-area toll road is getting under way. Indonesian leaders promise more railways and airports. Singapore has unveiled plans for a new subway line.

MONETARY POLICY remains appropriate but authorities will consider various scenarios, among them a fresh easing by the US Federal Reserve, during a review next week, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) chief said. “At the moment, our assessment is that our stance of policy is appropriate,” central bank Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. yesterday said…

“REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT” used to be a buzzword in academic and policy circles from the late 1960s through the 1980s. That it has faded in recent years reflects perhaps a general sense of disappointment with the country’s regional development that has become more lopsided than balanced.

MANILA, Philippines – Twenty years after the Philippines signed the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement, the country may still not be ready to join the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015.

MANILA, Philippines – Local think tank Global Source Partners (GSP) cut its growth forecasts for the Philippine economy this year and next year due to the slower growth in the second quarter.

MANILA – The Philippine government is ready to support growth if needed, with the state stepping up spending on public infrastructure, ensuring that growth this year will be closer to the high end of a target of 5 to 6 percent, the economic planning secretary said on Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy posted a 5.9% GDP growth in the second quarter, one of the highest growth rates in Southeast Asia, but IBON Foundation executive director Sonny Africa says the growth is still not being felt by most Filipinos. “It’s always good to watch the numbers but we have to ask :…

MANILA, Philippines – 29-year-old Joey Santos is a veteran DJ in the Manila. He started his own music studio when he was 21 but had to work 3 jobs to support himself and his music. In recent years, his studio’s business picked up. He was able to quit his office job and pursue music full…

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippine government will not revise its growth target of 5-6 percent for 2012 despite the slower on-year economic growth in the second quarter, a senior government official said today.

THE ECONOMY grew by 5.9% in the second quarter, at par with market expectations, the government yesterday reported, citing construction activities and state spending as the main drivers. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth — just a shade higher than the 5.86% median forecast in a BusinessWorld poll of economists — was slower than the previous…

The Philippine economy grew at a slower pace of 5.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, although the growth was still above analysts’ average forecast of 5.3 percent and the Southeast Asian average of 4.7 percent. With the second-quarter result, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said on Thursday that the country is…

The Philippine economy may grow at a faster clip of about 5 percent in 2012 from 3.7 percent in 2011. It all hangs on how decisively and quickly the government can spur investments with a little help from consumers and private investors.

STRONG GROWTH in developing Southeast Asia is “credit positive,” Moody’s Investors Service yesterday said, with countries such as the Philippines expected to continue posting gains amid lackluster outlooks for other regional economies.

TOKYO – Big Japanese manufacturers’ sentiment worsened in August and is expected to improve only slightly in the coming months, a Reuters poll showed, as Europe’s debt crisis, a global slowdown and a stubbornly strong yen take their toll on the export-reliant economy.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is predicted to be one of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world in the next 40 years, according to Knight Frank and Citi Private Wealth’s 2012 Wealth Report. The Philippines is seen to be the 6th fastest growing economy in the world between 2010-2050, with gross domestic…

MANILA, Philippines – With exporters hurting from the strong peso, economists and consumer groups are pushing for the gradual depreciation of the peso to around P50 to the US dollar.

(Financial Times) — When Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, announced this year’s annual growth target of 7.5 per cent in March, most analysts assumed he was being unduly modest and that the world’s second-largest economy would actually expand much faster.