S&P Global Ratings, a credit rating agency, maintains Colombia’s credit rating at BB+ but changes the outlook from stable to negative due to underexpected growth prospects, the Treasury Department said.
Ricardo Bonilla, Minister of Finance, noted that “together with the economic reactivation plans that the national government is designing, the country’s credit profile will be improved and the optimal performance of economic policies will continue.”
Despite the Colombian economy’s slight recovery of 2.25% in November, as reported by Dane on Thursday, S&P Global Ratings has changed its outlook.
In this regard, the Head of the Portfolio of the Ministry of Finance emphasized that “in November 2023, the Economy Monitoring Indicator increased by 2.3%, which contributes to improving the economic growth prospects for 2024.”
For its part, the national government hopes that the rating will improve, as they predict that gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by around 3% in the medium term, without committing to a provisional date.
On the other hand, the risk assessment agency emphasizes the positive aspect of stability in institutions and democracy, as well as “pragmatism in the government’s economic policies.”
This, according to the Ministry of Finance, is due to three main aspects highlighted by the Colombian government: 1) the tax reform process that will continue in 2022, 2) the increase in gasoline prices that has contributed to reducing fiscal costs of this subsidy and 3) the increase in toll rates for 2024.
Source: El heraldo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
