BANKING giant HSBC slashed its Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate for this year after factoring in the economic impact of the rising coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections this month.

“We recently reduced our real GDP growth forecast for 2021 to 6.3 percent from 6.5 percent implying the economy won’t be back to its pre-pandemic levels until end-2022,” HSBC economist Noelan Arbis noted in a report released on Friday.