Philippine economy likely to grow 6 pct in 2012

The Philippine economy is likely to grow 6 percent on the back of an increase in public and private spending, government officials said on Monday. "With the healthy macroeconomic fundamentals, buoyed business expectations and improved global competitiveness, the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to meet the target growth of 5 to 6 percent. We will most likely hit the upper end of the range this year," said National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) director general Arsenio Balisacan during the Philippine Economic Briefing. Balisacan said the services sector, which includes the business process outsourcing industry, will provide a boost to economic growth this year. He also expects the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to contribute to GDP growth. "Personal household consumption will be buoyed by low inflation, continued inflow of remittances and improved employment prospects. These will be augmented by the accelerated government spending," he said. To sustain growth, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the Aquino administration would continue to focus on its public- private partnership program (PPP) and in propping up the tourism sector. "The other area that we need to continue to execute on is agriculture, especially in making sure that food supply chain is modernized particularly (the provision of) storage, refrigeration and dryer facilities so that we have secure food supplies and stable prices," said Purisima. Philippine economy grew by 6.1 percent in January to June due to the good performance of the services sector and the rebound in construction.