Philippines says economy grew 4.9pc in Q1

MANILA: The Philippines said Monday its economy expanded by a lower-than-expected 4.9 percent in the three months to March, due to a drop in global trade and less spending on infrastructure.

The National Statistical Coordination Board said first quarter growth in gross domestic product was lower than the 8.4 percent GDP in the same period last year, when economic activity was boosted by election-related spending.

"Underspending by the government and the slowdown in global trade constricted the economy to a lower growth... of 4.9 percent in the first quarter," the agency's secretary general Romulo Virola said in a statement.

The government said earlier it was aiming for a full-year GDP growth rate of seven to eight percent.

Gross national income, which includes income from abroad, expanded 3.6 percent from 11.5 percent the previous year.

The drop in the growth rate was partly due to political crisis in the Middle East and North Africa, a key source of remittances from overseas-based Filipino workers, as well as the appreciation of the local currency.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011