MANILA - THE Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace last year since democracy was restored more than two decades ago, expanding 7.3 per cent on the back of a global upswing, the government said on Monday.
The growth is a fillip for President Benigno Aquino's new government as it seeks to attract more foreign investment and enable the long under-performing economy to catch up with its fast-developing Asian neighbours, analysts said.
The National Statistical Coordination Board said one main reason for the strong performance - coming off growth of just 0.9 per cent in 2009 - was the rest of the world recovering from the global financial crisis. 'The global economic recovery which resulted in record growth rates of foreign trade... contributed to an economic performance in 2010 that well surpassed the government's target of 5.0 per cent to 6.0 per cent,' it said.
Extra money that was pumped into the economy as politicians campaigned for national elections in the middle of the year, as well as higher remittances from the millions of Filipinos working abroad, also helped, the board said.
The 7.3 per cent full-year GDP expansion was the highest since at least 1986, when dictator Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in a peaceful revolution, according to the board. It did not give economic growth figures prior to 1986, before which different growth measures were used.
The strong growth last year came during a period of peaceful political transition for the Philippines, as Mr Aquino easily won the presidential elections in May and succeeded Gloria Arroyo as the nation's leader. -- AFP
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