PANGANDAMAN ON “A-” RATING FROM JAPAN R&I: “LET’S GET ALL As!”

DBM PRESS RELEASE

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman welcomed the news that Japan's Rating and Investment Information Inc. (R&I) upgraded the Philippines' credit rating to "A-" with stable outlook from "BBB+" last year.

Japan R&I is the largest credit rating agency in Japan that provides credit ratings, research and analysis of financial and capital markets, and analysis and evaluation of finances and creditworthiness, among other services.

“Let’s get all A’s. I am confident we can achieve an “A” rating for all credit rating agencies,” Pangandaman said.

The Philippines currently holds an “A-” rating from the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR), “BBB” from Fitch Ratings, “Baa2” from Moody’s Ratings, and “BBB+” from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings.

Just last week, Pangandaman was the first to say that an “A” rating is possible for the Philippines as early as next year.

The Budget Chief also called for a whole-of-government approach to achieving an “A” credit rating following Senator Loren B. Legarda’s inquiry on the “Road to A Credit Rating Agenda” to the Development Budget Coordination Committee during the Senate briefing on the proposed FY 2025 National Budget.

An “A-” credit rating reflects strong investor confidence in the country's macroeconomic stability, high economic growth, and improved fiscal position.

"The Philippine economy has been showing fast growth among the major economies in Southeast Asia," R&I said in its report dated August 14, 2024.

Specifically, R&I projects the country's economic growth to remain strong and stable over the medium and long term amidst the backdrop of robust public and private sector investments, development of domestic business sectors such as business process outsourcing (BPO), and favorable demographics, among other factors.

“Under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has been working on the initiatives to secure economic stability, accelerate infrastructure development as well as investment expansion, and create employment, aiming to accelerate poverty reduction and improve the level of household income,” the report