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Fitch upgrades Panama to "positive"

LA PRENSA

BB+: Fitch upgraded Panama’s public debt from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’, a positive news indeed for investors. To further obtain lower interest rates in the next two years, Panama should achieve an investment grade rating. 977189

The international rating agency Fitch yesterday upgraded Panama's public debt rating from "stable" to "positive," though it kept the country's grade at "BB+."

The company said that change means that Panama has advanced halfway toward achieving an investment grade rating, which would help the country obtain lower interest rates for its bonds. Fitch said those standards could be reached in the next two years if the current economic growth rate continues and the government follows a prudent fiscal management policy.

Fitch believes that Panama should be able to absorb future increases in government debt linked to the Canal expansion without any pressure on its current ratings, given its "solid" prospects for economic development and the expectation that it will maintain a fiscal discipline.

"Growth rates continue to develop in a positive direction, with an increase of over 8 percent for the second consecutive year," the company said.