Phnom Penh - The Cambodian government Monday welcomed its
first-ever foreign currency and local currency government bond
ratings from Moody's, saying the B2 rating represented a milestone.
In a joint government press release with the government's rating
advisor Credit Suisse, Deputy Prime Minister Sok An said the rating
represented a new era in financial transparency and foreign
investment for Cambodia.
'The ratings are a milestone in improving investor confidence in
Cambodia and show Cambodia's willingness to make public its financial
health,' Sok An said in the press release.
Cambodia also secured a B+ rating for long-term foreign and local
currency government notes from Standard & Poor's, according to the
press release.
Standard & Poor's also awarded a short-term foreign and local
currency rating of B. Moody's assigned a foreign currency notes
ceiling of B1, a foreign-currency ceiling for bank deposits of B3,
and a local currency notes ceiling and a local currency deposit
ceiling of Ba1.
Moody's said the ratings at least partially reflected a favourable
offset of Cambodia's current account deficit against foreign-direct
investment inflows and a build-up in official foreign exchange
reserves to a level adequate in relation to the country's near-term
debt repayments.
The continued success of the country's tourism and garment sectors
as well as anticipated good returns from oil and gas reserves, on
which commercial drilling is expected to begin within two years, were
also contributing factors, it said.
'Cambodia has recently attracted significant inflows of foreign-
direct investment into sectors such as tourism, garments and energy,
which should help to continue to boost the overall level of
investment in the economy as well as to strengthen the balance of
payments,' Moody's Vice President Thomas Byrne said in the release.
The release also quoted Standard & Poor's primary credit analyst
Agost Bernad as saying real gross domestic product (GDP) growth
averaging nine percent over the past six years had boosted Cambodia's
per-capital GDP by 64 percent.
'There is reason to expect similar robust growth performance in
the medium term, given the policy continuity, which focuses on
export-led growth and stability in price and exchange rates,' Barnad
said in the release.
Credit Suisse said the ratings showed that the ratings agencies
had recognized 'significant momentum' in Cambodia's reform
programmes.
The outlook for all ratings was given as stable, according to the
press release. All short-term ratings and ceilings were not prime.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
Your Talkback on this Story