Economy

MANILA, Philippines—The composite leading economic indicators (LEI)—a broad barometer used to gauge the economy’s health—continued to improve in the third quarter but at a slower pace, the National Statistical Coordination Board said.

MANILA, Philippines – Economic managers of the Aquino administration admitted yesterday that former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did well in managing the economy during her incumbency.

Local traders said the recent strong showing of local exports does not mean an overall recovery for the entire sector since the growth is not spread out.

Q2 upturn welcomed; Moody’s raises RP growth forecast BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED second- quarter growth may have boosted the Philippines’ prospects but fiscal and reform issues remain a concern, debt watchers and an international bank said.

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that the next United Nations assistance program for the Philippines would be aligned with the new government’s development priorities. In a statement, NEDA Director-General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2012 to 2016 would mirror the Medium-Term Philippine…

MANILA, Philippines – Britain-based Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) said the strong economic growth in the Philippines can be sustained if the government immediately undertakes infrastructure projects.

MANILA, Philippines – The economy’s stronger-than-expected economic growth of 7.9 percent in the second quarter of the year has not trickled down to the grassroots, according to the non-government think-tank and research group IBON.

AS economic growth in the second quarter and the first semester came close to hitting 8 percent, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) expressed belief on Thursday that full-year growth can still exceed the government’s targets barring any natural disasters and economic problems.

MANILA, Philippines – The economy is poised to grow by 6.2 percent this year on the back of a recovering global environment, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in its latest report on the country.

MANILA, Philippines – The number of Filipinos who expect their lives to get better in the next 12 months hit a record high during the remaining days of the Arroyo administration, a latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

IN order for the economy to be able to create more jobs and curb poverty, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the Aquino administration will address at least seven major macroeconomic issues in the next six years.

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration said it would incorporate in the next Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan programs the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Out of 100 countries, the Philippines ranked a poor 63rd in a Newsweek magazine study of the world’s best countries in terms of health, education, economy and politics. In Asia, the country was the third to the bottom in the Newsweek ranking in its latest edition.

MINDANAO QUESTION MANILA, Philippines—Urooj S. Malik’s article, “Mindanao can be RP food basket” (Talk of the Town, Aug. 8), is a well-meaning attempt at breaking the current political and economic impasse in Mindanao. The problem, however, is that it ends up hewing closely to the long-running Manila-imposed strategy of utilizing Mindanao’s human and natural resources…

MANILA, Philippines – Business confidence for the fourth quarter has hit an all-time high on the back of higher-than-anticipated economic growth, stronger peso, robust overseas remittances, benign inflation, strong export earnings, and smooth transition of political power.

WHERE’S the big fish, and the little details? Responding to presentations made by the country’s economic managers during the Philippine Mid-Year Economic Briefing on Wednesday, business groups are asking the Aquino administration to put in place a tougher anti-smuggling campaign as well as other policies to brighten up the investment climate.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is confident that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows would pick up in the second half of the year after plunging sharply in the first five months of the year due to jitters about the debt crisis in Europe as well as the outcome of the first…

Philippine per capita income would be able to pull alongside those of its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) neighbors only by 2015 despite a growth assumption of 10 percent this year onward, a senior official from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday. In a presentation to reporters, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa…

MANILA, Philippines – Monetary authorities stressed the need for the Philippines to expand its domestic output as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) by at least 10 percent to catch up with its neighbors as the country continued to lag behind other countries in the region over the medium term. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas…

MANILA, Philippines – The administration of President Aquino wants the country’s economy to be at par with its Asian neighbors at least before he steps down in June 2016.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s exporters are considering an upward revision of their export growth target for 2010 from 20 percent to at least 25 percent following the higher-than-expected growth in merchandise exports during the first half of the year.

EXECUTIVES of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) ignored my request for comments on President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s choice of the zero-based budgeting technique and how it will impact on the agency’s work.

MANILA, Philippines – Five in 10 Filipinos expect their lives to get better next year, a latest survey by Pulse Asia showed. Another survey, conducted by the Social Weather Stations, showed that four in 10 Filipinos said providing livelihood programs and jobs as well as monitoring the prices of basic commodities are the primary issues…

MANILA, Philippines – Monetary authorities believe that the country’s domestic output as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) could grow in double-digit levels if the administration of President Aquino is able to put in place much needed physical infrastructure and at the same time develop human capital to pave the way for the entry…

INSTEAD of “tinkering” with labor policies to create more jobs, an expert from the University of the Philippines School of Economics (Upse) urged the Aquino administration to focus its efforts on improving the country’s anemic economic growth in order to create more employment opportunities.

I wrote this piece in July 2004 in the hope that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would listen and use it in her State-of-the-Nation Address. She didn’t, it can all be said again, with some amendments to bring it up to date and adapt it better to a new president. Let’s hope I won’t be able to…

MANILA, Philippines – Acting National Economic and Development Authority Director General Augusto Santos said Tuesday the gross domestic product was expected to grow 6.5 to seven percent this year because of additional spending that the government would undertake.

BEIJING — That warm glow and soft purring emanating from South Korea was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) trying, yet again, to put the Asian financial crisis behind it.

The Philippine economy will grow at a faster pace of 4.5 percent next year, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday, revising its earlier forecast of 4 percent in terms of the gross national product for 2011.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its forecast for exports and imports growth this year on the back of the better-than-expected expansion in the first quarter. BSP Deputy Gov. Diwa Guini-gundo told reporters that exports would likely grow by 15 percent, up from an earlier forecast of 12 percent.