PH economy projected to drop 8.1%

The World Bank projects the Philippine economy to shrink by as much as 8.1% this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the Washington-based financial institution’s latest projection got worse from its 6.9% October estimation, it is better than the government’s new forecast range of -8.5 per cent to -9.5 per cent.
The World Bank lowered its growth forecast on expectations of heavier impacts of the ongoing health crisis, strict containment measures, and unprecedented scale of global recession in the Philippines.
Despite the country’s gradual easing of its community quarantine to reopen the economy, the World Bank noted that the economic recovery remains “fragile, uneven, and incomplete.”