Phl lone Asian country in S&P list of rising stars

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines stood its ground as the only Asian economy to make it into Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services’ latest list of “rising stars.”

In its report, global credit watcher S&P said the  number of its rising stars increased by two this year to 31, while its “fallen angels” count stood at 19 entities.

Rising stars are issuers that S&P upgraded to investment grade (rated BBB- and higher) from speculative grade (rated BB+ and lower).

Fallen angels, on the other hand, are issuers downgraded to speculative-grade (BB+ and lower) from investment-grade (BBB- and higher).

The Philippines, classified as a sovereign, received a BBB- investment credit rating from S&P, an upgrade from the previous BB+.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), a government financial institution and classified as bank, also got a BBB- rating from the previous BB+.

A BBB rating is likewise characterized by minimum spreads of 160 to a maximum of 182, while a BB rating is faced with minimum spreads of 256 to a maximum spread of 377.

The rising stars account for $184.5 billion in rated debt.

S&P added that there are 54 potential fallen angels compared with 16 potential rising stars.

“A low potential rising stars countindicates that the rising stars count may increase at a slower pace going forward,” S&P said.

Of the 16 potential rising stars, seven (43.8 percent) are based in the US, five (31.3 percent) are based in Europe, and two (12.5 percent) are based in Latin America.

The automotive, media and entertainment, metals/mining, and utility sectors have two issuers each, while all of the other sectors have one.

Approximately 71 percent of the rising stars transitioned from a BB+ rating to a BBB- rating to achieve rising star status.