Think tank tells PHL strive for 'investment grade'

New York City-based think tank GlobalSource Partners said the Philippines must sustain its momentum on revenue collection, poverty alleviation and eradicating corruption to earn an ‘investment grade’ rating from the global financial community. In its latest ‘Market Brief’ the think tank noted that Moody’s Investors Service on Wednesday raised to its highest level since 2005 the country’s credit rating to ‘Ba2’ from ‘Ba3.’ GlobalSource said the ‘Ba2’ rating is lower than Indonesia’s grade and “falls short of the highest rating the country achieved of just a notch below investment grade during the Ramos presidency in 1997 and which was in place until the beginning of 2004." GlobalSource analysts explained that investors and global debt watchers will be keeping close watch over government’s anti-corruption efforts and on the alert for signs that the country “is moving towards solving long-time problems of corruption and poor governance." The think tank said global debt watchers will also be checking how fast dollar remittances from overseas Filipinos can grow given the problems in countries that host them. It said Moody’s credited the country’s “improved fiscal position, healthy external accounts, and relative macroeconomic stability as grounds for the upgrade." Moody’s advised the Philippines to reduce its debt levels even further and strive for a healthy balance of payments position to move up to investment grade, GlobalSource said. — ELR/VS, GMA News