The Philippine economy is projected to grow above 6 percent for each year until 2015 despite risks from the eurozone and the United States, the World Bank said in its newly released Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2013 report.

The Washington-based lender announced that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for 2013 may grow to 6.2 percent this year, 6.4 percent in 2014 and 6.3 percent in 2015.

It added that full-year growth in 2012 will likely be 6 percent, higher than the 4.2-percent projection in June 2012.

The World Bank projection is within the government’s target of 5-percent to 6-percent GDP growth for 2012.

The National Statistical Coordination Board has yet to announce the results of the 2012 national accounts, however, the government is confident that it will reach its growth target as the country’s economy averaged 6.5 percent for the first three quarters of 2012.

Meanwhile, the bank noted that the robust growth in the Philippines and other Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries will support the growth of the East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) region.

“Continued strong domestic demand, improved global financial conditions and intensified trade flows will boost the output response in East Asia and the Pacific,” the GEP stated.

It added that GDP growth in the region excluding China is projected to accelerate to 5.8 percent in 2013 and 5.9 percent in 2014 and 2015 reflecting robust growth in the Philippines (about 6 percent),
Indonesia (about 6.6 percent), Malaysia (about 5 percent) and Thailand (about 4.5 percent).

Vietnam, meanwhile, will continue to benefit from firming up commodity prices, with growth projected to reach 6 percent by 2015.

The report said that China’s growth will accelerate to 8.4 percent in 2013 before stabilizing at about 8 percent in 2014 and 2015 as its economy reorients toward domestic demand and services.

East Asia and the Pacific region will also benefit from a potentially rapid economic transformation in Myanmar, where growth is projected to surpass 6 percent in 2013 and from the recent accession of Lao PDR to the World Trade Organization, which completed the near-universal international trade integration of the region.

However, the World Bank warned that openness and integration make East Asia and the Pacific region vulnerable to sources of global instability.

“EAP region could see 1 percent cut in its GDP in 2013 if the risk of the Euro Area crisis unfolds.

Failure to resolve the US debt and fiscal issues would cut regional GDP by 1.1 percent in 2013,” the GEP reported.

It mentioned that the regional growth outlook is subject to growth slowdown in China, stemming from a risk of unwinding of China’s high investment rates, particularly if this were to occur in a generally weak global growth context.

The report said that the regional growth outlook is vulnerable to developments related to volatile capital inflows, asset price bubbles, excessive credit growth and risk of sudden capital outflows.

“The economies in the region are also vulnerable to energy price spikes, in case of supply shortages related to a possible escalation of political tensions in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world,” it said.