JCR affirms PH investment grade status.

Debt-watcher Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) affirmed the Philippines' investment-grade credit status with a stable outlook amid global uncertainties and a high inflation environment.

In a report on Friday, March 10, the Japanese credit watcher maintained Manila's 'A-' rating, which indicates lower credit risk and entails better access to the international debt market at favorable interest rates.

Following the release, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the affirmation only confirmed the country's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, as evidenced by the strong growth performance in 2022 at 7.6 percent.

Diokno also said the country's labor and employment conditions continued to improve, with generally steady and low unemployment and underemployment rates since the end of 2022.

JCR, meanwhile, cited the country's resilient banking system, which remains "healthy on stronger payment capacity and improving employment situation."

In 2022, the national government's outstanding debt settled at 60.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), lower than the 61.8 percent target that was set in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF).

Furthermore, the Bureau of the Treasury's latest cash operations report showed that the budget deficit narrowed down to 7.3 percent of GDP from the 8.6 percent in 2021. The latest fiscal outturn is also better than the MTFF target for 2022 at 7.6 percent.

"The Marcos administration is...