Topic: PH gets first-ever investment grade rating

[NAPAKAPANGET]

What it means for Phl: An investment grade rating means the Philippines has a strong ability to meet its financial commitments fully and on time.

While credit ratings do not indicate investment merit, credit risk is one of the factors taken into consideration by businessmen. An investment grade sends a message that the Philippines is a safe place for investments, including big-ticket ones that generate much-needed employment.

Borrowing costs will also go down for debtor nations seen as unlikely to default. The Philippines, whose debt payments eat up the largest chunk of the annual national budget, can then channel savings to development efforts and improvement of basic services
 

 
 

1.   The Philippines got its first long-coveted investment-grade rating on Wednesday, as Fitch Ratings gave the country a 'BBB-' with a stable outlook.

 

2.   An investment grade status opens up the country to more investments that can lead to additional jobs and funds for infrastructure, and help create sustainable economic growth.

 

3.    "The Philippine economy has been resilient, expanding 6.6% in 2012 amid a weak global economic backdrop. Strong domestic demand drove this outturn," Fitch said in a statement. (For the full statement, click here.)

 

4.    But the credit rater expects the economy to slow down to 5.5% this year, lower than government estimates of a 6-7% growth.

 

5.   Fitch lauded the improvements in Philippines' fiscal management that began under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that made "general government debt dynamics more resilient to shocks."

 

6.    These improvements, the debt watcher said, made the country's strong economic and moderate budget deficits in line with investment-grade status.

 

7.    Efforts of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, meanwhile, were also not in vain as Fitch stressed the inflation management mechanism and policy-making framework of the central bank gave way to the country's current favorable macroeconomic conditions.

 

8.    However, Fitch pointed out more governance reforms should be put in place as the Philippines lag behind other BBB countries in this aspect.

 

9.    "Governance reform has been a centerpiece of the Aquino administration's policy efforts. Entrenching these reforms by 2016 is a policy priority of the government," Fitch noted.

 

10.                The credit rater also recounted the low fiscal revenue of the Philippines maybe below investment-grade standard, but the recent sin tax law should allow the government to rake in more tax revenues.

 

11. A further positive rating action on the Philippines is possible if the country can sustain its economic growth or broaden its fiscal revenue, Fitch said. But a downgrade is also possible if the country sees a reversal of the reforms in place, a higher fiscal debt, an unstable banking sector, or a deterioration in monetary policy management.

 

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The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) soared to a new high on Wednesday, lifted by the news of the Philippines' investment grade rating.

 

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., in a statement on Wednesday said "The investment grade upgrade should inspire the entire government bureaucracy and the Filipino people to capitalize on the opportunities that will arise from the rating upgrade."

 

"From our end at the BSP, we will remain committed to our mandate of maintaining a stable inflation environment supportive of economic growth, and on enhancing governance standards of financial institutions in line with the national priority of good governance," he continued.

 

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima also welcomed the rating upgrade, saying this "opens up more sources of financing for our businesses, lowers the cost of borrowing, and encourages more investments, which in turn will lead to more jobs and greater incomes for our people."

 

"The Aquino administration remains committed to eliminating corruption, investing in our people, and enhancing our infrastructure and overall business climate. We have already done so much in the past 3 years, with greater cooperation from our people, we can do so much more," Purisima added.

 

Two other credit raters, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, rate the country a notch below investment grade. S&P awarded the Philippines a BB+ with a positive outlook, while Moody's gave it Ba1 with a stable outlook.

 

Economists noted there are still a lot to be done following the rating upgrade to sustain and boost economic growth.

 

"Fitch's rating upgrade of Philippines to investment status will certainly boost investment confidence in the country, which is seeing strong growth momentum and improved public finances," Bernard Aw, economist at Forecast PTE in Singapore, said.

 

"However more work needs still need to be done, particularly in terms of pushing through reforms to increase investments as well as government revenue," he added.

 

Jose Vistan, research head at AB Capital Securities in Manila, said for his part: "It's something that was already expected by the stock market but I think investors will welcome it and that will push the main index to 7,000 possibly next week. We're just 200 points away from that level."

 

"The question now is what's next after the ratings upgrade. There's a lot of concern about valuations," he pointed out.

 

Norio Usui, country economist at the Asian Development Bank, said the rating is "unprecedented in the Philippines and can trigger the kind of investment that will help carry the country into its next phase of development."

 

"Prudent measures to attract investment, improve the business climate and diversify the economy have paved the way for growth. Now it's up to the authorities to make that growth more inclusive by creating more and better jobs," Usui added.-- with Reuters

[fpause]

 

Great news!

Hoping for a brighter future for our country.

 

[Anders.Bonifacio]

Awesome! Hurray sa Pinas!

good on President Noynoy Aquino.

[Pall-Eren-Mnr]

pwede 

now if our president can keep it up

[ugat]

Nararamdaman ba ng mga ordinary pinoy jan sa Philippines? If not then that's not the reality

[tigerwing]

Nararamdaman ba ng mga ordinary pinoy jan sa Philippines? If not then that's not the reality

Hindi porket hindi nararamdaman ng ordinaryong tao eh hindi na reality. Hindi ganun ka simple ang economiya na porket sinasabing gumaganda ang takbo eh ibig sabihin lahat ng tao makikinabang na. It would take decades of continued rapid economic growth before the benefits trickle down and standard of life of the entire population improves.

[KaMushroom]

Nararamdaman ba ng mga ordinary pinoy jan sa Philippines? If not then that's not the reality

Well pag biglang nagkaroon ng tatlong lechon sa hapag ng bawat pamilya e THAT'S NOT REALITY 

[~Muska~]

Bright future for our country.

[youtube]inAe6Wpn6ok[/youtube]

[ipcmlr]

Yep! Sa wakas!
Sana yung s&p at moody's i upgrade na din tayo.

[NAPAKAPANGET]

Let's hope for the BETTER.

Hindi man tayo yung makaramdam pa ngayon. If this will continue, for sure yung next generation natin makinabang. dun pa lang WIN WIN na tayo

[-=Kurabo=-]

Awesome! Hurray sa Pinas!

good on President Noynoy Aquino.

actually it's thanks to GMA all things have already been set on the table.

[Anders.Bonifacio]

actually it's thanks to GMA all things have already been set on the table.

sala sa init sala sa lamig si president noynoy. lol.

salamat ba kay arroyo? 

[-=Kurabo=-]

sala sa init sala sa lamig si president noynoy. lol.

salamat ba kay arroyo? 

Arroyo's administration paved way for the improvements in today's fiscal management - this is one already coming from Fitch, we need to give credit where credit's due unlike Noynoy who discredit then blame past administration to cover up their failures

[ogamer104]

Arroyo's administration paved way for the improvements in today's fiscal management - this is one already coming from Fitch, we need to give credit where credit's due unlike Noynoy who discredit then blame past administration to cover up their failures

So, if we are not given this rating. Its Pnoy, s fault?

[-=Kurabo=-]

So, if we are not given this rating. Its Pnoy, s fault?

how come? I'm just saying we need to give credit where credit's due -- he's a glory grabber so what's new

[ogamer104]

how come? I'm just saying we need to give credit where credit's due -- he's a glory grabber so what's new

Yeah right.

Maybe you're the one who is not giving him credit.Lahat ng kapalpakan sa kanya and all the achievements Where not his.

Am I right?

[HeLL_Vhoy]

Nararamdaman ba ng mga ordinary pinoy jan sa Philippines? If not then that's not the reality

Brod alam mo kahit anung ganda ng ratings/credits/reports/feedbacks o kahit anung tawag pa dyan ng mga economist kung mismo si juan dela cruz e matutulog na lang at kukuyakoy ng buong araw pano niya mararamdaman yun? kung umuulan nga at di ka nag lagay ng balde/tabo/planggana na pangsahod e pano ka makakakuha ng grasya?

[schwack]

Merong isang thread puro Hater ng Administrasyon, nasan na kaya sila ngayon? pasyal pasyal naman kayo dito sa thread na ito.. Kasi nga diba yung thread nyo 2% kayong magagaling at matatalino at 98% kaming pa ngoyngoy ngoyngoy lang?..

[Belphegor]

investment rating = more BPO
im not saying BPO's are bad, i'm just saying yun pa lang ang mga investor na nakikita kong pumapasok at ang pinagtu-tuonan ng atensyon sa ngayon.
ang tanong, paano yung iba na ayaw sa BPO? ano plano ng gobyerno?

iwas po sana sa flaming.

[Anders.Bonifacio]

Arroyo's administration paved way for the improvements in today's fiscal management - this is one already coming from Fitch, we need to give credit where credit's due unlike Noynoy who discredit then blame past administration to cover up their failures

Arroyo? Yung kunyari naka neck brace at naka house arrest dahil sa kasong corruption? tapos gustong sa ibang bansa magpagamot ng tuhod dahil hindi daw kaya ng mga filipino doktors na gamutin yung ailments nya?

Only reason why Arroyo looked good during her time as the president is because Erap was such a shit president.

If you want to give credit then give credit to your current president, the ONLY president that got us the Investment Grade Rating. It's now up to us to take advantage of this opportunity.

Hirap sa ating mga pinoy e, masyadong emo. lol

investment rating = more BPO
im not saying BPO's are bad, i'm just saying yun pa lang ang mga investor na nakikita kong pumapasok at ang pinagtu-tuonan ng atensyon sa ngayon.
ang tanong, paano yung iba na ayaw sa BPO? ano plano ng gobyerno?

iwas po sana sa flaming.

bakit ayaw ng iba sa BPO? Kung nakukuha natin ang kontrata, wala naman sigurong mali dun.

[-=Kurabo=-]

Arroyo? Yung kunyari naka neck brace at naka house arrest dahil sa kasong corruption? tapos gustong sa ibang bansa magpagamot ng tuhod dahil hindi daw kaya ng mga filipino doktors na gamutin yung ailments nya?

Only reason why Arroyo looked good during her time as the president is because Erap was such a shit president.

If you want to give credit then give credit to your current president, the ONLY president that got us the Investment Grade Rating. It's now up to us to take advantage of this opportunity.

Hirap sa ating mga pinoy e, masyadong emo. lol


bakit ayaw ng iba sa BPO? Kung nakukuha natin ang kontrata, wala naman sigurong mali dun.

]
yup, yung kurakot na sinungaling pa na presidente? yes indeed she did paved way, sinsensationalized din kasi ng media yung issue masyado, yung mga pinagmamalaki ni Noynoy na narecruit niyang billion dollar investors? it was GMA who was able to invite them to invest kaso inaantay lang nila ang pagpapalit ng administration kasi hindi na talaga maganda image ni GMA

[-=Kurabo=-]

Yeah right.

Maybe you're the one who is not giving him credit.Lahat ng kapalpakan sa kanya and all the achievements Where not his.

Am I right?

wala naman ako sinabi na wala siyang nagawa? kaso sinabi nga it was GMA who paved way which gave Noynoy a pedestal

[Anders.Bonifacio]

]
yup, yung kurakot na sinungaling pa na presidente? yes indeed she did paved way, sinsensationalized din kasi ng media yung issue masyado, yung mga pinagmamalaki ni Noynoy na narecruit niyang billion dollar investors? it was GMA who was able to invite them to invest kaso inaantay lang nila ang pagpapalit ng administration kasi hindi na talaga maganda image ni GMA

exactly. she didn't get the investors because she was a shit president. that's not paving a way to Noynoy. She actually did more harm and Noynoy fixed it.

she invited them and they refused. Noynoy sat and they all now want a piece of our growing economy.

[Pall-Eren-Mnr]

Merong isang thread puro Hater ng Administrasyon, nasan na kaya sila ngayon? pasyal pasyal naman kayo dito sa thread na ito.. Kasi nga diba yung thread nyo 2% kayong magagaling at matatalino at 98% kaming pa ngoyngoy ngoyngoy lang?..

one success ain't enough to cover his blunders. heck, this success is debatable due to the fact it was gloria who started it, it was only pnoy who reaped the rewards.

[-=Kurabo=-]

exactly. she didn't get the investors because she was a shit president. that's not paving a way to Noynoy. She actually did more harm and Noynoy fixed it.

she invited them and they refused. Noynoy sat and they all now want a piece of our growing economy.

nope they didn't refused here actually she was able to persuade them to invest and Noynoy all had to do was open his moth and wait to be feed.