Manila, Jan. 14 -- Analysts at First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) expect the Philippine economy growing by 6.2 percent to 6.6 percent this year, as consumer spending rebounds and the national government infrastructure spending accelerate.
"This is really the key here: the strong consumer spending that we expect not only this year but in the coming years," Dr. Victor Abola, an economist at UA&P, said in a press briefing Tuesday.
Abola attributed the strong consumer spending to the country's low inflation and interest rates, and historically low unemployment rate, the underemployment rate, and poverty rate.
He also cited the national government's catch-up plan to bring infrastructure spend...