A stable outlook for Honduras: Standard & Poor's maintains country risk credit rating at BB-

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, May 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of Hurricanes Eta and Iota's path of destruction in Honduras, Standard & Poor's confirmed that Honduras maintains its credit rating at BB- with a stable outlook, being the highest historical rating achieved by the country since 2017.

In the 2021 assessment statement, the international risk rating agency believes that in the short term there will be a combination of recovery and prudent economic policies to gradually reverse the setback resulting from the combined shocks of COVID-19 and two hurricanes that caused a contraction of the GDP of 9% in 2020.

Standard & Poor's also highlighted the progress of the Government of Honduras towards fiscal consolidation in the coming years, maintaining its broad access to sources of financing, which together with the economic recovery, will prevent a further deterioration of public finances.

In the context of this publication, some worldwide business media highlighted the stable climate for investment in the Central American nation.

To date, Honduras, together with Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, have the best credit ratings in the region with Standard & Poor's (BB-), surpassing El Salvador (B-), Costa Rica (B) and Nicaragua (B-).

The foundation of sovereign credit analysis rests on five pillars: Institutional Evaluation, Fiscal Evaluation, Monetary Evaluation, Economic Evaluation and External Evaluation.

"A better credit rating allows the private sector and the Government to obtain better financing conditions at the same time that it encourages national and foreign investment, which translates into better employment opportunities for the population and greater access to resources at a lower cost," assured the president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández.

"Looking ahead to this year, we have the approval of the Electoral Law Reform, Stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund, an ongoing process of vaccination against COVID 19, and the country risk credit rating is maintained at B, consolidating the situation of Honduras towards getting back on track and reach sustainable economic development," assured the president.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD1FgwNpilA

SOURCE Government of Honduras