Philippine economy expands 6.9 pct in Q3

Source: Xinhua| 2017-11-16 15:57:08|Editor: pengying
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MANILA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines grew 6.9 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2017, said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.

"This is higher than the 6.7 percent growth in the second quarter of 2017, but slower than the 7.1 percent growth in the same period of the previous year," undersecretary Lisa Grace Bersales, PSA national statistician, told a news conference.

Among the major economic sectors, industry recorded the fastest growth of 7.5 percent while services expanded by 7.1 percent. Meanwhile, agriculture slowed down by 2.5 percent from 3.0 percent growth in the previous year.

With an impressive GDP growth of 6.9 percent, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia told the conference that the Philippines remains one of the best performing economies in Asia.

To keep the country's growth momentum, Pernia said the government is working hard in fast-tracking the implementation of the "Build, Build, Build" program, a master plan to build infrastructure nationwide that was proposed by the Philippine government in April.

"With private construction exhibiting a downtrend for two consecutive quarters, the government's infrastructure program will open more opportunities for some sectors to expand business activities in construction and maintenance and increase their capital spending," Pernia said.

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