MANILA, May 4 - The Philippine economy is likely to expand by 3.8 percent to 4.8 percent in 2011, faster than forecast for this year, a senior official said on Tuesday.
"The economy is growing faster so we need less stimulus spending," Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran told reporters. The government expects the economy to grow 2.6 percent to 3.6 percent this year.
Analysts in a quarterly Reuters poll last month predicted the economy would grow 4.4 percent next year, up slightly from 4.2 percent seen for 2010.
The budget deficit as percentage of gross domestic product is projected to fall next year compared to this year, he said.
"What I am sure of, the deficit will be lower than this year as a percentage of GDP," Beltran said.
The Philippines, Asia's largest sovereign issuer of foreign debt, is expected to post a record budget deficit of 307.5 billion pesos in 2010, from 298.5 billion pesos in 2009, after a wider-than-expected shortfall in the first quarter, a separate Reuters poll showed on Monday.
Forecasts for the 2010 deficit ranged from the government's target, equal to 3.5 percent of GDP, to 4.3 percent of GDP.
Both the budget and growth numbers for 2011 will be announced on Thursday, when the inter-agency body Development Budget Coordination Committee meets, Beltran said.
The committee will also decide whether to move a target of balancing the budget to 2016 from the current goal of 2013. (Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Writing by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Kazunori Takada)
