Illustrative image. The Philippine economy grew by 6.8 percent in the first quarter of 2018, faster than the growth recorded in the same quarter of 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on May 10.
The Southeast Asian country has maintained an economic growth rate of 6.5 percent or higher for 10 successive quarters.
With the growth, the Philippines remained one of the best performing economies in Asia in the first quarter of the year, but concerns over inflation pushed the central bank to lift interest rates.
The impressive growth rate, which tied it with China and was only eclipsed by Vietnam, was fueled by a surge of 13.6 percent in government spending under President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Philippine Government is carrying out a huge infrastructure development programme worth up to 180 billion USD with the aim of modernizing the country’s transport systems.
However, inflation is at a five-year high of 4.5 percent, beyond the target of 2-4 percent set by the central bank.
Right after the data were announced, the Philippine central bank raised the benchmark interest rate to 3.25 percent after it had been at a record low of 3.0 percent since being reduced in June 2016./.