Philippines Q2 GDP up 7.5 pct yr-on-yr,fastest in 20 years

Aug 30, 2007 - The Philippine economy expanded by 7.5 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest growth in two decades, President Gloria Arroyo said Thursday.

The growth exceeded consensus estimate of 6.9 percent, based on a poll by Thomson IFR.

"We are confident of achieving our full-year growth target of 6.1-6.7 percent," Arroyo told reporters in a briefing.

The second quarter growth beat forecasts by both government economic managers and the private sector.

Growth for the period was fuelled largely by the services sector which went up 8.4 percent on an annualised basis.

Industrial output grew 8.0 percent from the previous year.

Agriculture output, which makes up a fifth of the country's gross domestic product grew 3.9 percent despite a dry spell.

Given the robust second quarter growth, Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said there is a good chance of exceeding the 2007 full-year growth forecast.

"Hitting 7.0 percent is not impossible. We don't expect any slowdown in the second half, we may even exceed the target." (1 US dollar = 46.63 pesos)