S&P upgrades Philippines’ credit outlook to ‘positive’

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
S&P Global Ratings bumped up its outlook on the Philippine economy, as it took stock of tax reform and “improved” fiscal policies which support solid economic growth.
The debt watcher revised its credit outlook for the Philippines to “positive” from “stable,” hinting stronger chances of bagging a rating upgrade.
“The Philippines government is enacting increasingly effective fiscal policies, marked by improvements to the quality of expenditures, still-limited fiscal deficits, and low levels of general government indebtedness,” S&P said in a statement sent late Thursday.
“At the same time, the economy continues to achieve consistently robust growth.”
The Philippines currently holds a “BBB” rating from S&P, which is a notch above minimum investment grade.
A higher credit rating improves the chances for a country to borrow funds from foreign sources at cheaper rates.