Philippines revises Q3 economic growth to 6.9%

The Philippine government on Wednesday revised downward last year's third quarter economic growth to 6.9 percent from the previous 7 percent. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said in a statement posted on its website that the "Other Services" sector was the largest contributor to the downward revision of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2013. Meanwhile, NSCB said Net Primary Income (NPI) from the Rest of the World contributed 0.4 percentage point, resulting to the upward revision of Gross National Income to 8.1 percent from 7.8 percent in the July to September period. The NSCB will release on Thursday the official data on the country's economic performance in the fourth quarter of 2013. The government earlier expressed optimism that GDP growth for 2013 will settle within its target of 6 to 7 percent despite the spate of natural calamities that struck the Philippines last year.