S&P lowers Belize's ratings
Standards and Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Belize from B- to CCC+. According to Standards and Poor the downgrade reflects signs of lower political willingness to service Belize's external commercial debt obligations," credit analyst for the company Kelli Bissett says that "In addition, Belize faces external imbalances, limited access to external funding, and rising costs of servicing general government debt." The reports says that On Jan. 31, 2012--during an announcement scheduling early elections for March 7, 2012--Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow introduced continued debt service of the government's US$546.8 million bond as an election issue. The nature of the statement and prominent public office of the speaker signals, from a credit perspective, lower predictability that the government will continue to service its external commercial debt. Standards and Poor also says that this announcement comes amid low economic growth, a weak investment outlook, and increased levels of crime, and limited ability to raise government revenue, all of which, from a credit perspective, weaken the government's payment capacity. It also says that Belize's current account is weakening, and its external financing options are limited.
