Economy

Although rocked by the worst typhoon in its history late last year, the Philippines was one of Asia’s 2013 success stories, maintaining strong macroeconomic fundamentals and steady GDP growth.

Stable growth in Oman during 2013 is expected to continue this year, supported by both an increase in oil production and the government’s fiscal policies, with the non-oil sector set to boost expansion.

Strong consumer spending helped ensure economic growth in Kuwait this past year, although a slowdown in the energy sector meant the rise in GDP was modest. The outlook for the oil industry in 2014 is unclear, but there is an expectation that private consumption and the rollout of government infrastructure projects have the capacity to boost growth in the coming year.

Un robusto gasto público así como los flujos de inversión extranjera contribuyeron a dar un impulso a la economía de Panamá durante el año 2013, con un incremento del PIB del 8% según estimaciones preliminares.

Si bien el crecimiento de la economía mexicana se desaceleró durante el año 2013, un importante paquete de reformas ha sentado las bases del crecimiento para el futuro, incluso en el decisivo sector de la energía.

Over the past 12 months Thailand’s economy has come under growing pressure, with political unrest combining with falling industrial output and weakening exports to slow development and cool investor confidence.