Why PH growth forecast has been upgraded

MANILA, Philippines - While growth forecasts for most of developing Asia are being downgraded, the Philippines is seen to be growing even faster than expected. On Monday, the World Bank raised its Philippine growth forecast to 7% from an initial forecast of 6.2%, while cutting most of the rest of Asia. Last week, the Asian Development Bank did the same. "The main story behind that is the very strong external position of the Philippines. Whereas most other emerging Asian economies are suffering from external imbalances, by that I mean BOP (balance of payments) deficit in these other countries while the Philippines continues to enjoy surpluses mainly because of its positive current account position," BPI economist Jun Neri said. Neri noted that in other Asian economies, "their growth performances are interrupted by challenges in managing their currencies because of these balance of payments problems." "In sharp contrast, the Philippines can move up with its growth programs and it can shrug off all these concerns about currency weakness," he said. ANC News Now, October 7, 2013