Philippines posts 45.2b peso budget gap in June

[MANILA] The Philippine government had a budget deficit of 45.2 billion Philippine pesos (S$1.3 billion) in June, which brought the shortfall in the first half of the year to 120.3 billion pesos, the Department of Finance said on Wednesday.

The budget gap in the first six months compares with a 13.7 billion pesos surplus in the same period last year.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to accelerate infrastructure spending during his six-year term, which began on June 30, to lift economic growth.

REUTERS