Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Top global rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) gave Bangladesh “BB-” rating – a sovereign credit rating – indicating a stable economic outlook for the country.
According to the S&P’s latest report available on Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, website, Bangladesh got the same rating and outlook from the firm in 2011 and 2010.
The rating came a few days after another international rating agency, Moody’s Investors Service, reassessed Bangladesh and left its rating unchanged at “Ba3”, which the central bank believes would help the country float its first ever sovereign bonds.
Sovereign credit rating is an important tool for positioning Bangladesh in the global financial arena by providing relevant information and related indicators about its overall economic situation, experts said.
The US-based S&P said strong and stable economic growth and ongoing substantial donor engagement, which support continued improvements in debt ratios, underpin the ratings. “Adequate central bank reserve coverage is another supporting factor for the ratings,” it noted.
It, however, identified high government and external debt, limited fiscal flexibility, and significant energy and infrastructure deficiencies as the key weaknesses for Bangladesh economy.
“We’ve already communicated with the rating agencies to update their ratings through reviving the country’s overall latest socio-economic condition,” a BB senior official told BBN in Dhaka.
He also said the rating agencies will visit Bangladesh in April-May this year in this connection.
BBN/SSR/AD-02Feb12-10:45 am (BST)
