WITH strong first-quarter growth prints, the Philippines and Vietnam have continued to lead economic expansion in South-east Asia – leaving underperforming Thailand in the dust – even as their numbers fell short of most economists’ expectations.
The Philippines, Asean’s fastest-growing economy in 2023, continued to occupy the top spot with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.7 per cent in the first three months of 2024.
Although it was shy of forecasts – 19 of 25 economists polled by Bloomberg predicted growth of between 5.8 and 6.6 per cent – growth still picked up from the previous quarter by 0.2 per cent.
