Standard and Poor’s Upgrades Dominican Debt

Standard and Poor’s Upgrades Dominican Debt
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 06/17/2011

Standard & Poor’s raised the Dominican Republic’s credit rating from B to B+, citing improvements in the country’s debt structure and economic growth. The upgrade came just as Dominican President Leonel Fernández was intending to go to the international capital markets for $500 million dollars this year, according to the President’s Office of Information, Press and Publicity.

“The Dominican Republic’s economy remains resilient,”…

S&P said in a statement to Reuters that it upgraded the long-term foreign currency rating of the Dominican Republic, one of the largest economies in the Caribbean,

“The Dominican Republic’s economy remains resilient,” S&P said. “The upgrade reflects the country’s progress in gradually improving its debt structure and debt management, its stronger growth and future export prospects.”

The International Monetary Fund forecasts the Dominican economy will expand by at least 5 percent this year, noting that it is in its third straight year of growth following the global economic recession.

The S&P rating of the Dominican Republic places the country four notches below investment grade