{"id":18632,"date":"2014-07-09T22:56:36","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T14:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=18632"},"modified":"2014-07-09T22:56:36","modified_gmt":"2014-07-09T14:56:36","slug":"japans-ri-further-upgrades-investment-grade-rating-for-phl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/07\/09\/japans-ri-further-upgrades-investment-grade-rating-for-phl\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s R&I further upgrades investment grade rating for PHL"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"TOKYO,<\/a>
TOKYO, Japan \u2013 President Benigno S. Aquino III exchanges pleasantries with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the Summit Meeting & Working Lunch at the Prime Minister\u2019s Official Residence in 2-3-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo on Tuesday (June 24, 2014). The meeting is an opportunity for the two leaders to exchange views on recent regional developments and to discuss areas of cooperation to enhance the Philippines-Japan Strategic Partnership. (PLDT powered by SMART) (Photo by Gil Nartea\/ Malaca\u00f1ang Photo Bureau\/PNA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA — Japanese debt watcher Rating and Investment Information Inc. (R&I) on Wednesday upgraded a notch its investment grade long-term foreign currency issuer rating on the Philippines to BBB with \u201cstable\u201d outlook from BBB- on back of increase in infrastructure investments and sustained implementation of reforms. In a statement, the credit rating agency cited the continued strengthening of the Philippine economy, the low inflation rate, and lesser fears on the government\u2019s fiscal position. It cited that \u201camid heightened reform momentum, infrastructure and industrial development, which were pending issues, are likely to progress.\u201d \u201dThis should allow for relatively high growth and raise per capita income levels steadily,\u201d it said. The debt watcher also maintained it\u2019s a-2 short-term debt rating for the country \u201cwhich indicates high certainty that short-term financial obligations would be paid. \u201c \u201cThe Philippines\u2019 economy continues to show strong growth, thanks to brisk investment coupled with private consumption driven by remittances from overseas Filipinos,\u201d it said. In 2013, the domestic economy surpassed expectations after expanding by 7.2 percent, higher than the government\u2019s six to seven percent growth target amid negative external environment and the disasters that hit the country in the last quarter of 2013. Also, fiscal situation continue to improve with the budget deficit in end-December staying below the P238 billion ceiling after it only totalled to Php164.1 billion. This is 31 percent lower than the Php242.8 billion deficit in 2012. R&I said these improvements in the Philippines \u201cshould allow for relatively high growth and raise per-capita income levels steadily.\u201d It noted that per capita income in the country remains low compared to other Asian countries but it has been increasing. In 2009, per capita income in the Philippines is about USD 3,684 but it has increased to USD 4,649 in 2013. This is expected to further increase because of the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative of the government, which is also expected to help increase investments. Also, R&I said improvements in fiscal situation, due to fiscal consolidation \u201chelp the government to finance infrastructure projects.\u201d \u201dBudget execution is also expected to accelerate,\u201d it said. The government has awarded seven projects under the PPP program and these include the P17.5 billion Mactan Cebu International Airport expansion project, the P2.01 billion Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road Project and the P15.52 billion NAIA Expressway Project. R&I also believes that the fiscal reform is a plus factor for the Philippines and this can be sustained beyond the term of the Aquino administration, which will end in the first half of 2016. \u201cThere is risk that the next government will not be as reform-minded as the Aquino administration. However, pressures from growing international relationships, such as the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, along with public expectation for sustained reform initiatives, should deter the post-Aquino government from going backwards,\u201d it said. The upgrade made by R&I is the second for the country this year after Standard and Poor\u2019s (S&P) upgraded the country\u2019s investment grade rating a notch to BBB with \u201cstable outlook\u201d from BBB- a year after the debt watcher elevated the country to investment grade. Aside from these two rating agencies, the Philippines also holds investment grade ratings from Moody\u2019s Investors Service, Baa3 with positive outlook; and Fitch Ratings, BBB- with \u201cstable outlook.\u201d The R&I upgrade was welcomed by economic managers who said that this serves as another proof on the country\u2019s strength and sustained expansion. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said this latest development on the country\u2019s credit standing is a recognition of a host of favorable macroeconomic indicators, particularly an inflation outlook that is conducive for business and the stability of the financial system amidst a difficult operating environment.\u201d \u201cThe upgrade is an expression of confidence, in part, on the ability of the Monetary Authority to implement appropriate and timely measures that ward off threats to the economic stability we are enjoying. The BSP will continue to craft policies that will help maintain this stability,\u201d he added. Also, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said \u201creforms that this government has started to institutionalize help ensure that the positive momentum will not falter.\u201d \u201cOn the fiscal front, administrative and policy reforms implemented by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will make it easier in the future to keep the growth trend in public revenues,\u201d he added. Relatively, Investor Relations Office (IRO) Executive Director Editha Martin said the upward adjustment in the country\u2019s credit-ratings scale is a big help to make the Philippines a favoured investment destination. \u201cIt is always good to have institutions outside the government point out the strengths of the Philippine economy. The string of credit-rating upgrades that the country has secured in recent years makes it difficult for investors not to notice the Philippines,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA — Japanese debt watcher Rating and Investment Information Inc. (R&I) on Wednesday upgraded a notch its investment grade long-term …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":17445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[6574,667],"class_list":["post-18632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-investment-grade-rating","tag-japan","mauthors-joann-santiago","mauthors-philippines-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}