The government has undertaken a move to up-date the country’s economic indicators to further enhance its image abroad.
As part of the effort, Finance Secretary Fazle Kabir sits today with the high officials of the international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s at Bangladesh Secretariat, said an official.
He said credit rating of Bangladesh’s economy has been delayed during last six months due to political unrest ahead of the national election held on January 5.
“The credit rating would not be below B+ as all the indicators of economy are in good shape, expecting the revenue growth,” Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune.
The government decided to extend the job of the global rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s for 2014 and 2015 on the advice of the central bank, said the finance ministry official.
The rating agencies were appointed in 2010, for the first time in the country’s history, and the government paid them Tk2.26 crore for 2012 and 2013.
Last year Moody’s reassessed Bangladesh’s rating unchanged at Ba3 for the third consecutive year.
Bangladesh’s rating is higher than that of Sri Lanka (B1) and Pakistan (Caa1), but one notch below India.
Fitch Ratings would also provide sovereign credit rating of Bangladesh as the government on February 4 allowed Bangladesh Bank to sign agreement with the New York-based global rating agency.
They would work on the ratings for the country besides existing two agencies – Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.
It is expected to facilitate the country to be rated by three different agencies and thus increasing the credibility to make it easy getting foreign capital and credit.