Philippines preparing roadmap for “A” credit rating upgrade before 2022 – central bank

May 8, 2019

The Duterte administration would formalize a roadmap for the Philippines to get an "A" credit rating before 2022, a central bank official said on Wednesday.

In a briefing in Malacanang, economic officials underscored the importance of the Philippines' receiving a new upgrade of "BBB+", one notch away from "A" rating and a stable outlook, by Standard & Poor's Global Ratings.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the latest credit rating upgrade would contribute to achieving and sustaining middle-income status of the country.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said a credit rating upgrade would mean lower pricing on the country's commercial bond issuances, resulting to huge savings.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guniguindo said after the latest S&P upgrade on the Philippines, the government is embarking on an agenda called "the road to A."

"The idea is for the Department of Finance and the BSP to organize an inter-agency committee that would formalize a roadmap to articulate and systematize the Philippines active pursuit of an A level rating. Such a roadmap will evidence the buy in and the commitment of key economic and infrastructure officials and agencies to get our efforts properly credited to A before 2022 to help further bring about more benefits to the economy and to our people," he said.

He said the government would direct its efforts in addressing the issues raised by S&P and other credit rating agencies, such as Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors Service, and Japan Credit Rating Agency.

The issues include further increasing the Philippine per capita income to enhance potential output, strengthening external payments buffers, keeping prices stable, fortifying public finance, and elevating governance standards.

Guinigundo said the roadmap should be finalized by next week. Celerina Monte/DMS