IIF slashes 2021 growth forecast for Philippines BusinessWorld 2 days ago Reporter THE INSTITUTE of International Finance (IIF) slashed its growth forecast for the Philippines this year to 6.5% due to renewed lockdown measures imposed to curb a fresh wave of coronavirus cases and a slow mass vaccination program. In its latest Macro Notes report, the IIF, a trade group representing financial institutions, cut its gross domestic product (GDP) projection for 2021 to 6.5% from 7.2% previously. If realized, this will hit the low-end of the Philippine government’s 6.5-7.5% target this year. “I downgraded the Philippines for several reasons, as pandemic control is still a problem and lacking of vaccine supply sources,” Yuanliu Hu, associate economist at the IIF, said in an e-mail on Thursday.