'Investment-grade rating for PH only matter of time'
06/19/2012
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine economic officials are confident that an investment-grade rating for the Philippines was "only a matter of time," as they concluded a non-deal road show in the United States last week.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo visited New York, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles from June 11 to 15 to meet with banks, investors, bondholders and credit rating agencies.
During their meetings, the economic team emphasized the Philippine economy's first quarter performance of 6.4%, which was the fastest in Southeast Asia.
"The Philippine growth story stands out in contrast to the more challenging global macro-economic backdrop.
Resilient and stable economic growth supported by strong fundamentals and a reform-minded administration provide a compelling investment thesis that was evident by the positive feedback during the republic's visit to the US last week," said William H. Strong, Co-CEO of Asia Pacific at Morgan Stanley, which helped the road show.
Philippine officials made another pitch for the much-coveted credit rating upgrade. The Philippines' sovereign ratings were a major part of their meetings with key investors and fund managers in the U.S.
Purisima and Domingo said an investment-grade rating for the Philippines was "only a matter of time." They cited that the cost of protecting Philippine bonds against default for five years is lower than some investment-grade countries such as Russia.
On the implied ratings, the Philippines is between three to four notches underrated, they said.
Purisima said the government is working hard to bring the Philippines to investment grade.
"This is very important in attracting investors who do not know the Philippines. We believe that getting better ratings will make it easier for the Philippines to attract more investors into the country. We need more investments to push the growth of the Philippines to a higher level and bring it nearer to a virtuous cycle of more jobs, more opportunities and a better life for more Filipinos," Purisima said.
Amid jitters over the euro zone debt crisis and slowdown in China and U.S., the officials emphasized they have put in place a plan to mitigate risks. They added that the potential impact from the euro crisis will be modest, while remittances are expected to remain resilient.
"Europe is a very large economy. The region may have issues at this time but there are still a lot of opportunities for the Philippines to expand trade and, bring more investments to the country from that region," the Finance Secretary said.
Other members of the Philippine delegation included National Treasurer Roberto Tan, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Assistant Governor Cyd Tuaño-Amador and BSP Investor Relations Office executive director Claro Fernandez.
During their meetings, the economic team emphasized the Philippine economy's first quarter performance of 6.4%, which was the fastest in Southeast Asia.
"The Philippine growth story stands out in contrast to the more challenging global macro-economic backdrop.
Resilient and stable economic growth supported by strong fundamentals and a reform-minded administration provide a compelling investment thesis that was evident by the positive feedback during the republic's visit to the US last week," said William H. Strong, Co-CEO of Asia Pacific at Morgan Stanley, which helped the road show.
Philippine officials made another pitch for the much-coveted credit rating upgrade. The Philippines' sovereign ratings were a major part of their meetings with key investors and fund managers in the U.S.
Purisima and Domingo said an investment-grade rating for the Philippines was "only a matter of time." They cited that the cost of protecting Philippine bonds against default for five years is lower than some investment-grade countries such as Russia.
On the implied ratings, the Philippines is between three to four notches underrated, they said.
Purisima said the government is working hard to bring the Philippines to investment grade.
"This is very important in attracting investors who do not know the Philippines. We believe that getting better ratings will make it easier for the Philippines to attract more investors into the country. We need more investments to push the growth of the Philippines to a higher level and bring it nearer to a virtuous cycle of more jobs, more opportunities and a better life for more Filipinos," Purisima said.
Amid jitters over the euro zone debt crisis and slowdown in China and U.S., the officials emphasized they have put in place a plan to mitigate risks. They added that the potential impact from the euro crisis will be modest, while remittances are expected to remain resilient.
"Europe is a very large economy. The region may have issues at this time but there are still a lot of opportunities for the Philippines to expand trade and, bring more investments to the country from that region," the Finance Secretary said.
Other members of the Philippine delegation included National Treasurer Roberto Tan, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Assistant Governor Cyd Tuaño-Amador and BSP Investor Relations Office executive director Claro Fernandez.
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