Mining can contribute more to economy – Purisima

MANILA, Philippines - Mining can contribute more to the Philippine economy once the regulatory environment is rationalized, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said yesterday.

Purisima welcomed the stronger-than-expected third quarter growth of 7.1 percent, which surpassed market expectations and placed the Philippines above its peers in the Southeast Asian region.

He said the Philippines achieved the strong growth-rate in the third quarter despite the 2.2-percent decline in mining during the period.

“It (strong growth) happened despite a 2.2-percent decline in mining, which shows that mining represents an extra gear for the Philippine economy once the regulatory environment is rationalized,” Purisima said.

Purisima said the third quarter GDP results show broad-based growth across all sectors. “The third quarter GDP figures show that investor and consumer confidence in the Philippines is definitely on an upward momentum,” he said.

The 7.1-percent GDP growth in the third quarter has brought growth in the first nine months of the year to 6.5 percent, driven by sustained government and private sector construction and consumption.

Purisima said the third quarter results show the strong partnership between the government and private investors.

 “This is the ultimate public-private sector partnership. Government takes care of fiscal sustainability, macroeconomic stability and continued business facilitation while the private sector responds with more investment and consumption,” he said.

Purisima said the government would continue to focus on boosting growth. “We will continue to focus on the fundamentals of Aquinomics to make sure that we are able to achieve our growth aspirations.”

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said public spending would continue in the last quarter of the year as the government implements public infrastructure projects.

 “All in all, we’re looking at very fruitful times ahead. With inflation kept down and an interest regime that stays low — not to mention increased public confidence in our anti-corruption and reform-oriented government platform — we see the country’s risk profile to improve considerably,” Abad said.

He said this would allow the cost of doing business in the country to go down and consequently, attract more investors.