Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– Top two global rating agencies– Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) and Moody’s will assess the country’s overall socio-economic situation to determine new sovereign credit rating for Bangladesh, officials said.
“Representatives of Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) will assess the country’s sovereign credit rating from April 30 to May 4 this year,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka.
The central banker also said Moody’s will later review the sovereign credit rating from May 22-24 this year.
“It’s a continuous process. The sovereign credit rating will be reviewed every year to assess and know the country’s latest economic situation,” he noted.
During review meeting, both rating agencies representatives will meet different stakeholders, policy-makers, trade body leaders and senior bankers to know the country’s latest socio-economical conditions.
Country’s overall balance of payments (BoP) situation and foreign aid flow may feature prominently during the meeting on sovereign credit rating, experts said.
Sovereign credit rating is a strong tool for positioning Bangladesh in the global financial arena by providing relevant information and related indicators about its overall economic situation.
Moody’s Investors Service, a US-based credit rating agency announced for the second times its sovereign credit rating for Bangladesh as Ba3 on April 18 last year, just after 10 days S&P’s sovereign credit rating as BB-.
The country’s overall BoP has recorded a deficit of $813 million during July-January period of the current fiscal year (FY) 2011-12 from the deficit of $711 million in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, the BB data showed.
The overall BoP has entered into a negative territory in FY’11 after a decade mainly due to a widening trade gap, minimum growth of inward remittances and a deficit balance in the financial account.
The pressure on the external sector may continue in the near future, because of a still widening trade gap and declining trend of foreign aid, the experts added.
Net receipts of foreign aid during the July-January period of the FY’12 stood lower at $ 530.47 million, against $647.10 million in the corresponding period of the FY’11, according to the official figures.
BBN/SSR/SI-04Apr12-11:30 am (BST)
