Philippine Economy Grew by 7.2% in 2013

Manila—(PHStocks)—Despite the devastation brought about by the series of natural disasters that hit the country in the last quarter of 2013, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, driven by the Services sector, particularly, Trade and Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities, and by the accelerated performance of Manufacturing, paving the way for the annual GDP to post a growth of 7.2 percent, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

On the demand side, sustained consumer and government spending for the whole year buttressed by increased investments in Fixed Capital Formation, particularly in Durable Equipment, contributed to the healthy GDP growth in 2013.  In the fourth quarter, the diminished government spending was not able to negate the robust GDP growth sustained by consumer spending and investments in fixed capital formation and the growth in international trade.

Meanwhile, on an annual basis, Gross National Income (GNI) grew by 7.5 percent in 2013 (the highest since the 8.5 percent growth posted in year 2003) from 6.5 percent the previous year with Net Primary Income (NPI) from the Rest of the World growing by 9.4 percent in 2013 from 4.8 percent in 2012.

For the fourth quarter, NPI grew by 15.1 percent, the highest since the first quarter of 2010, from 2.7 percent the previous year.  This, together with the GDP performance, resulted to GNI’s growth of 7.8 percent in 2013 from the previous year’s 6.4 percent.

From the third to the fourth quarter, seasonally adjusted GDP and GNI grew by 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.  Both the entire Agriculture sector and the Services sector grew by 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively in the previous quarter. On the other hand, Industry expanded by 3.2 percent due to the expansion of Manufacturing.

With the robust economic growth in 2013, per capita GDP accelerated to 5.4 percent from 5.0 percent in 2012.  Likewise, per capita GNI grew in 2013 by 5.8 percent from 4.7 percent in the previous year.

Per Capita Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE), on the other hand, decelerated to 3.9 percent in 2013 from 4.8 percent the previous year.

Manila—(PHStocks)—