Finance dept: GDP likely rose 6.5% in third quarter

THE Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) likely grew by 6.5 percent in the third quarter of 2018 on the back of increases in government spending and manufacturing, the Department of Finance (DoF) said on Wednesday.

Quoting a report by Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd told reporters that his department expected economic growth in July to September “to be higher than the first-half revised growth of 6.4 percent — at least 6.5 percent — due to the 30-percent growth in NG (national government) expenditures and the 8.8-percent real growth in manufacturing production.”