Standard & Poor’s new rating for Peru will help the Andean country attract more investments at a time of increasing uncertainty in its economic outlook, President Ollanta Humala said.
Humala’s comments come after Standard & Poor’s upgraded Peru’s rating on spot higher in investment grade to triple-B-plus from trip-B. The agency pointed to reduced risks in Peru to external shocks. It also said that Peru’s economy continues to post strong growth and that the public-sector debt remains low.
“While in other places there are storms, in Peru the clouds are opening and there is sun,” Humala said, according to state news agency Andina.
“This means that, even with all of the problems in the world, Peru is seen as a place to attract investments and a country of opportunities, where the work that the government and businesses are doing is giving fruit,” he said.
Humala recently warned that the international crisis has reached Peru, comments that drew strong criticism from opposition politicians. Those comments were in response to slower economic growth and declining exports as a result of falling metal prices.
“The crisis has affected us, but our economy is solid and it will allow us to get out of this,” Humala said.
Peru’s economy is expected to grow around 5.5 percent this year, from 6.3 percent in 2012.
