Imports up 13.4% to $4.51B in Nov

Import growth accelerated to a three-month high in November as manufacturers purchased more raw materials on prospects that exports may rise in 2007.

Overseas purchases rose 13.4 percent to $4.51 billion in November after a 12.5 percent gain in October, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said yesterday.

Two-thirds of Philippine imports are used to build exported computer parts, disks and other electronic products made by local units of companies such as Texas Instruments Inc. and Toshiba Corp. The government is counting on increased overseas sales to accelerate economic growth to at least 6.1 percent this year from an estimated 5.7 percent in 2006.

November imports data "show that exports growth will remain firm in the coming months," said Frances Cheung, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong. "This would help buoy economic growth this year."

Still, the government’s 6.1 percent growth target for 2007 "is a bit over optimistic" given an expected slowdown in global demand, said Cheung, who forecasts economic expansion to slow to 4.7 percent this year. The economy grew 4.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the smallest gain in 12 months.

Imports of raw materials, including electronic components, increased 15.1 percent in November to $1.45 billion from a year earlier, after rising 14.1 percent in October.

Trade deficit for November was $487 million, the NSO said. For the first 11 months of the year the trade shortfall was $4.02 billion, compared with $5.78 in the same period in 2005. Industrial machinery imports increased 2.5 percent after rising 10.1 percent in October.

Mineral fuel and lubricants rose 40 percent in November, after surging 49.7 percent the previous month.

Growth in imports of consumer goods quickened to 18 percent to $310 million, after rising 14.2 percent the previous month.

"This is an indication of strong domestic demand, so it’s also good for the economy," Cheung said. Growth in global semiconductor sales accelerated to 11.3 percent in November from a year earlier, after rising 9.2 percent in October, San Jose, California-based Semiconductor Industry Association said on Jan. 2. The group expects chip sales to increase 10 percent this year.

"A stronger peso is making imports cheap," said Christy Tan, a currency strategist at Bank of America in Singapore. "Importers are making use of the opportunity of cheaper imports to increase purchases."

Electronic imports growth slowed to 8.4 percent in November after gaining 14.5 percent in October, the statistics office said.

Shipments of electronics may rise 10 percent in 2007, Arthur Tan, chief executive officer of Integrated Microelectronics Inc., a Philippine maker of computer chips for companies including Toshiba Corp., said earlier. Tan is also president of Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines. Electronic exports may average 10 percent in 2006, he added. – Aisa Osorio