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Philippines
| Economy Overview |
The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by annual remittances of $7-8 billion from overseas workers and no sustained runup in asset prices or foreign borrowing prior to the crisis. From a 0.6% decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown, an export slump, and political and security concerns. GDP growth accelerated to 4.3% in 2002, 4.7% in 2003, and about 6% in 2004, reflecting the continued resilience of the service sector, and improved exports and agricultural output. Nonetheless, it will take a higher, sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in poverty alleviation given the Philippines' high annual population growth rate and unequal distribution of income.
The Philippines also faces higher oil prices, higher interest rates on its dollar borrowings, and higher inflation. Fiscal constraints limit Manila's ability to finance infrastructure and social spending. The Philippines' consistently large budget deficit has produced a high debt level and has forced Manila to spend a large portion of the national government budget on debt service. Large, unprofitable public enterprises, especially in the energy sector, contribute to the government's debt because of slow progress on privatization. Credit rating agencies are increasingly concerned about the Philippines' ability to sustain the debt; legislative progress on new revenue measures will weigh heavily on credit rating decisions. |
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| Economy Statistics |
| Exports: |
$38.63 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) [?]
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
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Export
Commodities: |
electronic equipment, machinery and transport equipment, garments, optical instruments, coconut products, fruits and nuts, copper products, chemicals [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of exported products starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
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Export
Partners: |
Japan 20.1%, US 18.2%, Netherlands 9%, Hong Kong 7.9%, China 6.7%, Singapore 6.6%, Taiwan 5.6%, Malaysia 5.2% (2004) [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
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| Imports: |
$37.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) [?]
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise imports on a c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight) or f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
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Import
Commodities: |
raw materials, machinery and equipment, fuels, vehicles and vehicle parts, plastic, chemicals, grains [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of imported products starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
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Import
Partners: |
US 18.8%, Japan 17.4%, Singapore 7.8%, Taiwan 7.3%, South Korea 6.2%, China 6%, Malaysia 4.5% (2004) [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
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| Philippines Chamber of Commerce |
| Address: |
19/F Salcedo Towers, 169 H. V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village Makati City, Philippines 1227 |
| Phone: |
(632) 844-5713 |
| Fax: |
(632) 843-4102 |
| Website: |
http://www.philippinechamber.com/ |
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