PH outlook itinaas sa ‘stable,’ ‘BBB’ credit rating aprub din sa Fitch

MANILA, Philippines – IN-UPGRADE ng credit watcher Fitch Ratings ang ‘outlook’ nito sa Pilipinas mula negatibo sa ngayon na ‘stable’ .

Nag-improve kasi ang kumpiyansa ng bansa na bumalik sa “strong medium-term growth” kasunod ng COVID-19 pandemic.

“The revision of the outlook to stable reflects Fitch’s improved confidence that the Philippines is returning to strong medium-term growth after the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting sustained reductions in government debt/GDP [gross domestic product], after substantial increases in recent years,” ayon sa Fitch.

“The revision also reflects our assessment that the Philippines’ economic policy framework remains sound and in line with ‘BBB’ peers, despite its low scores on World Bank Governance indicators,” dagdag na wika nito.

Sa pagtataya ng Fitch, tatamaan ng bansa ang 6% growth sa medium term, na sinasabing mas malakas kumpara sa median 3% growth sa ilalim ng ‘BBB’ rating.

Sinasabing ang higher growth rate ng Pilipinas na pumalo sa 7.6% noong 2022, pinakamalakas noong 1976, at ang growth warmed naman sa 6.6% sa first quarter ng 2023.

Nahulaan din ng Fitch na ang general government deficit ay liliit sa 2.8% ng GDP ngayong 2023 at 2024, “from an estimated 3.3% of GDP in 2022 and 4.6% of GDP in 2021.”

Idagdag pa rito, inaasahan naman ng creditors na ang deficit sa GDP ay bababa sa 52% sa taong 2024, matapos na gumapang pataas ng 54% noong nakaraang taon.

Gayunman, tinuran ng Fitch na ang “outlook and ratings were constrained by weak scores on the World Bank Governance Indicators,” lalo na ng political stability at rule of law. Kris Jose