Thursday, October 2, 2008

Financial meltdown and the developing countries: the Philippines revises down economic growth rate

Here it comes the impact of the financial meltdown on developing countries.

Economic growth in the Philippines has been revised down (by approximately one percentage point) from an expected growth rate of 5.5-6.4 percent to 4.4-4.9 percent, noting that the country “will not be spared” from the impact of the US economic slump.

…The revised Philippine economic growth, measured through the rise in gross domestic product (GDP), is seen at 4.4 percent to 4.9 percent. Barely three months ago, the Development Budget Coordination Committee pegged the country's GDP growth at 5.5 percent to 6.4 percent.GDP in 2009 may grow by only 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent from an initial projection of 6.1 percent to 6.9 percent.

…The US is one of the largest trading partners of the Philippines. Latest data from the National Statistics Office show that 9.3 million Filipino workers are in the Americas.

More here.