Business World
THE PHILIPPINES should get an upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings if the country’s fiscal performance continues to improve, a central bank official said.
"Their problem, they said, is the fiscal position, but I guess the fiscal position is also showing significant improvements," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said last Tuesday.
"So if we can sustain that this year and the next, there will be no other reason for the other credit rating agencies not to grant us an upgrade."
The government on Tuesday reported a P482-million budget surplus for November, trimming the deficit for the year so far to P268.9 billion, down from the P270.3 billion for the January to October period.
Mr. Guinigundo said he was hopeful that Moody’s and Fitch would follow Standard and Poor’s (S&P) lead.
S&P last month raised the Philippines’ foreign currency credit rating to ‘BB’ from ‘BB-’, citing the country’s progress in reducing debt as well as its strong growth prospects.
"[I] hope credit rating agencies will not wait for more time for [the] national government to establish [a] trend," Mr. Guinigundo said.
Andrew Colquhoun, Fitch’s Asia-Pacific Sovereigns director, said strong public finances were an important consideration.
"The Dep[uty] Governor has highlighted an area we have repeatedly emphasized as of central importance for the Philippines’ rating profile -- sustainable strengthening in the public finances, likely including a rise in the revenue take," he said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld yesterday.
A Moody’s representative was not immediately available for comment. -- Louella D. Desiderio
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