As reported in Business World on its November 18-19, 2016 issue, the Philippine economy In the last quarter of 2016 expanded at its quickest pace in three years making the country the fastest growing among Asia’s emerging markets.

While the first quarters saw 7% growth, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.1% in the three months ending in September ahead of China’s 6.7%, Vietnam’s 6.4%, Indonesia’s 5%, and Malaysia’s 4.3%. The GDP is the amount of final goods and services produced in the country, and as such, is the conventional measure of economic performance.

Economic expansion in the last quarter was fueled the most by capital spending as construction in both government and private sector grew by 16.8%. Household spending remained a pillar of strength having grown 7.3% in the third quarter.

Industry growing 8.6% in the latest three-month period also helped the expansion with a pickup in construction and manufacturing. Agriculture contributed to the overall economic expansion with a growth of 2.9% in the latest quarter.

The growth in GDP cements the country’s chance of achieving its overall target of 6% to 7% for 2016. The country needs to grow this quarter by at least 3.4% to reach the 6% lower end of the full-year target, and by 6.9% to reach the 7% higher end.

The Philippine economy’s strong growth in the third quarter is seen to continue to bolster growth in the near-term.

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