Vietnam won a sovereign rating upgrade from Fitch Ratings on rising foreign-exchange reserves and strong economic growth.
Bloomberg reported, the rating on the nation’s long-term, foreign currency-denominated debt was raised one level to BB, with a stable outlook, Fitch said in a statement on Tuesday. The upgrade puts Vietnam at the second-highest speculative grade and on par with Costa Rica.
Vietnam’s government has committed to containing debt and reforming its state-owned enterprises, boosting its track record of policy making. The economy will probably expand 6.7 percent in 2018, making it among the fastest-growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region, and fastest among BB rated peers, Fitch said.
Reserves are forecast to climb to about $66 billion by the end of this year from $49 billion in 2017, while general government debt is likely to decline to below 50 percent of gross domestic product by 2019, according to Fitch calculations.
By Karl Lester M Yap