Describe the philippines economy at present?

Question

Describe the philippines economy at present?

Answer 1

The Economy of the Philippines is a capitalist market economy in Asia, and one of the newly industrialized emerging market economies of the world. In 2007, it was ranked as the 37th largest economy by the International Monetary Fund according to purchasing power parity. It is the fastest-growing economy in Southeast Asia, posting a real GDP growth rate of 7.3% in the year 2007, its fastest pace in three decades, and has a comparable economic growth to that seen in India.[1]

Important sectors of the Philippine economy include agriculture and industry, particularly food processing, textiles and garments, and electronics and automobile parts. Most industries are concentrated in the urban areas around metropolitan Manila, while metropolitan Cebu is also becoming an attraction for foreign and local investors in recent dates. Mining also has great potential in the Philippines, which possesses significant reserves of chromite, nickel, and copper. Recent natural gas finds off the islands of Palawan add to the country's substantial geothermal, hydro, and coal energy reserves.

As a newly industrialized nation, the Philippines is still an economy with a large agricultural sector, however services are beginning to dominate. Much of the industrial sector is based around manufacturing electronics and other high-tech components, usually from American corporations.

Industrial production is centered on processing and assembly operations of the following: food, beverages, tobacco, rubber products, textiles, clothing and footwear, pharmaceuticals, paints, plywood and veneer, paper and paper products, small appliances, and electronics. Heavier industries are dominated by the production of cement, glass, industrial chemicals, fertilizers, iron and steel, and refined petroleum products.

The industrial sector is concentrated in the urban areas, especially in the metropolitan Manila region and has only weak linkages to the rural economy. Inadequate infrastructure, transportation and communication have so far inhibited faster industrial growth.

Agriculture

The Philippines currently hosts the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which studies high yielding rice varieties. It has played a key role in the Green Revolution and was able to increase rice yields and rice production during the 1970s .

Automotive

The ABS used in Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volvo cars are made in the Philippines. 2005 was the first year that the Philippines exported cars in quantity courtesy of Ford Motor Company. Toyota and Nissan are other major automakers that make cars in the country. Further investments in this sector are expected to grow in the next following years.

Electronics

Intel has been in the Philippines for 28 years as major producer of Intel's advanced products including the Pentium 4 processor. A Texas Instruments plant in Baguio has been operating in for 20 years and is the largest producer of DSP chips in the world . TI's Baguio plant produces all the chips used in Nokia cell phones and 80% of chips used in Ericsson cell phones in the world. Until 2005, Toshiba laptops were produced in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Presently the Philippine plant's focus is in the production of HDD's. Printer manufacturer Lexmark has a factory in Mactan Island in the Cebu region

Outsourcing

The majority of the top ten BPO firms of the United States operate in the Philippines. Total jobs in the industry grew to 100,000 and total revenues are placed at $960 million for 2005.

Mining

The country is rich with mineral and thermal energy resources. In 2003, it produced 1931 MW of electricity from geothermal sources (27% of total electricity production), second only to the United States,[8] and a recent discovery of natural gas reserves in the Malampaya Fields off the island of Palawan is already being used to generate electricity in three gas-powered plants. Philippine gold, nickel, copper and chromite deposits are among the largest in the world. Other important minerals include silver, coal, gypsum, and sulfur. Significant deposits of clay, limestone, marble, silica, and phosphate exist. About 60% of total mining production are accounted for by non-metallic minerals, which contributed substantially to the industry's steady output growth between 1993 and 1998, with the value of production growing 58%. In 1999, however, mineral production declines 16% to $793 million. Mineral exports have generally slowed since 1996. Led by copper cathodes, Philippine mineral exports amounted to $650 million in 2000, barely up from 1999 levels. Low metal prices, high production costs, lack of investment in infrastructure, and a challenge to the new mining law have contributed to the mining industry's overall decline.

The industry went on a rebound starting in late 2004 when the Supreme Court deemed an important law permitting 100% foreign ownership of Philippine mining companies constitutional.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is ill equipped to address the renewed interest in mining. There are several companies that mine under the Small Scale Mining (SSM) that should rightly be classified and taxed under the large scale mining laws. The DENR is taking some time to inform these companies that they are violating the SSM laws by mining more than 50,000 tons of ore per year.

The DENR has yet to approve the revised Department Administrative Order (DAO) that will provide the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA), the specific part of the 1994 Mining Act that allows 100% foreign ownership of Philippine mines. The current DAO 99-56 is deficient because it is confusing and open to abuse.

Transportation

Transport of people, goods and services in the country is done mostly by motorized vehicles, boats and planes. Land transportation vehicles are imported, except for the jeepney and tricycle which are locally made.

Statistics

    * GDP: purchasing power parity - $298.9 billion (2007 est.)

    * GDP - real growth rate: 7.3 % (2007)[9]

    * GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,700(2007 est.)

    * GDP - composition by sector:

          agriculture: 14.1%

          industry: 32.3%

          services: 54.6% (2007 est.)

    * Population below poverty line: 30% (2003 est.)

    * Household income or consumption by percentage share:

          lowest 10%: 2.4%

          highest 10%: 31.2% (2006)

    * Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (2007)

    * Labor force: 35.79 million (2006), 41.93 million (2007)

    * Labor force by occupation: (2007 est.)

          agriculture 35%

          industry 15%

          services 50% (2007 est.)

    * Unemployment rate:7.3% (2007 est.)

    * Budget:

          revenues: $23.96 billion

          expenditures: $25.24 billion (2007 est.)

    * Industries: electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing

    * Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2007 est.)

    * Electricity - production: 53.67 billion kWh (2005)

    * Electricity - consumption: 46.86 billion kWh (2005)

    * Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2001)

    * Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2001)

    * Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes; pork, eggs, beef; fish

    * Exports: $48.38 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

    * Exports - commodities: semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits

    * Exports - partners: US 18.3%, Japan 16.5%, Netherlands 10.1%, China 9.8%, Hong Kong 7.8%, Singapore 7.3%, Malaysia 5.6%, Taiwan 4.3% (2006)

    * Imports: $53.96 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

    * Imports - commodities: electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals, plastic

    * Imports - partners: US 16.3%, Japan 13.6%, Singapore 8.5%, Taiwan 8%, China 7.1%, South Korea 6.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Malaysia 4.1%, Thailand 4.1%, Hong Kong 4% (2006)

    * Debt - external: $62.84 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

    * Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $451.4 million in commitments (2006)

    * Currency: 1 Philippine peso (P) = 100 centavos

    * Exchange rates: Philippine pesos per US dollar - 46.148 (2007), 51.246 (2006), 55.086 (2005), 56.04 (2004), 54.203 (2003)

    * Fiscal year: Calendar year

Answer 2

philippine economy is undeniably facing a hard time today. given the fact that the inflation rate is going higher every time raising prices of almost all commodities, we are economically down this time. and i hope this will never last for too long.

Answer 3

Economy can be gauged by the quality and number of food on the table of the majority of the population.

In this respect, I cannot say we have a Philippine economy to speak of.