The Philippines’ economic growth for this year is expected to exceed the government’s revised target, while the country’s previous growth trajectory is seen to return by the end of 2022, according to a report released yesterday.
The Market Call, a joint research report published by First Metro Investment Corp. and the University of Asia and the Pacific, said the economic recovery appeared to gain momentum as the gross domestic growth rate bloated beyond consensus in the third quarter.
“With milder quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila+ starting, and headline inflation going below four percent by December at the latest, business and consumer sentiment should further boost economic activity to a full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth slightly above the four to five percent revised government target,” the report said.
Year-to-date, the country’s economic growth is currently at 4.9 percent. To reach the government’s full-year goal, the fourth quarter GDP must range between 1.7 percent and 5.3 percent. The report said the national government will likely ramp up further its infrastructure spending, while large public-private partnership projects will continue with less impediments.
With the manufacturing subsector still buoyant, together with the supercharged construction sub-sector, industrial output gains in the fourth quarter will likely reach double-digit territory, while the services sector should provide above-average performance, it added.
“We expect a further ramping up of infrastructure spending starting the fourth quarter of 2021 as election spending simmers with lineups firming up by end of the year,” the report said. “The economy will likely get back into its previous growth path by the end of 2022, even as inflation eases especially in the first quarter of 2022,” it added.
