Philippines' 7.1% economic growth is fastest in SEAsia

A pretty impressive record.

According to DBS, the economy grew by 7.1% YoY in 3Q, taking growth in the first three quarters of the year to 6.5%, the fastest in Southeast Asia.

Here's more from DBS:

This set of numbers is particularly impressive considering that many other Asian economies have been showing signs of slowdown amid ongoing external headwinds.

Critical to the country’s economic resilience is resurgent domestic demand which have more than offset the external drag. With economic momentum still going strong, we have revised up our 2012 and 2013 GDP growth forecasts to 6.2% (5.7% previously) and 5.3% (5.0% previously) respectively.

The environment has been very conducive for domestic demand as inflation has stayed low, allowing the central bank (BSP) to maintain accommodative monetary policy.

Elevated business confidence has also been reflected in the robust investment growth rate (averaging 8.1% YoY) over the last three quarters. An improved budget disbursement process is also clear from the government consumption numbers.

In 2011, government consumption’s contribution to headline growth was negligible, but this figure has improved to an average of 1.3pct-pt in the first three quarters of the year. Going into 2013, election spending will also provide a boost to government spending.

On the external front, net exports contributed a negative 0.89pct-pt to headline growth. However, exports have actually outperformed relative to the other economies in the region.

Much of this can be attributed to the successful diversification of exports over the last 1-2 years. Previously, electronics made up more than 50% of total outbound shipments. This has changed.

While electronics exports have largely gone sideways since early 2012, non-electronics manufactures have been able to take up the slack. As a result, exports in nominal terms still registered healthy growth rates.