Aquino: RP ‘out of doldrums’ despite still junk credit grade

11/14/2010
President Aquino hailed his country’s sovereign credit upgrade by ratings agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) as a sign that the nation was moving out of the economic “doldrums” although the rating remains below investment grade despite the S&P action.

“We’re very delighted because the efforts that we have been trying to do are already being recognized by an agency with international character,” he told reporters late Friday at a summit of Asia-Pacific economies in Yokohama, Japan. S&P said Friday it had raised the Philippines’ sovereign credit rating by a notch to “BB,” citing the country’s improving growth prospects and ability to resist global shocks.

“We would like it (the rating) to go even higher but that is already cause for us to be delighted with the results, we have gotten a level up when we have been in the doldrums for such a long time,” Aquino said.

S&P cited the Philippines’ underlying strength “of its external accounts” as lessening the threats posed by the nation’s high public and external debt, providing a buffer against adverse shifts in trade or investor sentiment.
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Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20101114hed4.html