Philippine debt rating up

Philippine debt rating up

MANILA (AFP): Standard and Poor's revised its rating of Philippines' foreign debt from "stable" to positive due to economic reforms and improved political outlook achieved under President Fidel Ramos, the agency said in a statement yesterday.

S and P said it "affirms its 'BB-minus' rating of foreign currency debt of the ... Philippines and changes the rating outlook to positive from stable," adding that an implied "BBB" rating, also positive, had been assigned to Philippines' long- term local-currency debt.

As a result of this, the outlook for the "BB-minus" foreign currency ratings of the government's National Power Corp. and the Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country's dominant carrier, had also been revised "to positive from stable."

S and P credited this to the Ramos government's improved relations with congress, making it more likely for economic reforms to be passed as well as to the improved political situation that had boosted foreign investor confidence in the country.