Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)-Standard & Poor’s (S&P) annual rating review reaffirmed the BB- rating for Bangladesh and also kept its ‘stable outlook’ for the sixth consecutive year.
“We are affirming our 'BB-/B' foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Bangladesh, the top credit rating agency said in its research update, said the report released on Wednesday.
Although the rating agency assesses Bangladesh's external liquidity as strong, the country faces the vulnerabilities of a low-income economy, fiscal constraints, and heavy development needs.
The S&P also said the stable outlook balances healthy growth prospects and an improving external profile against fiscal weaknesses and development needs.
The global rating agency may raise the ratings if measures aimed at expanding the revenue base and boosting collection efficiency materially improve fiscal performance.
“We may also upgrade Bangladesh if the government materially reduces energy, infrastructure, and administrative bottlenecks and boosts investment, leading to a durable increase in trend growth for real per capita GDP,” it noted.
Likewise, the rating agency may also raise the ratings if its monetary flexibility strengthens, evident in well-controlled inflation over a sustained period and deeper capital markets with market-based tools, added the report.