S&P: Phl on track for rating upgrade

The Philippines remains on track for a possible credit rating upgrade as improving fiscal and external balances outweigh risks from the government's flood control controversy, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings said.

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“We also see the Philippine sovereign credit metrics strengthening over the next one to two years,” the rating company said in a Feb. 3 report. “Over this period, we expect that narrowing fiscal and current account deficits could augment sovereign credit buffers sufficiently to better support a higher rating.”

S&P last affirmed the Philippines’ long-term “BBB+” and short-term “A-2” credit ratings in November. It also kept a “positive” outlook on the country, signaling that a rating upgrade is possible over the next one to two years if improvements in credit fundamentals are sustained.