S&P Upgrades S. Korea To A-Plus Rating
Standard & Poor's upgraded South Korea's sovereign credit rating from A to A-plus Friday, citing stability on the Korean peninsula and the resilience of Asia's fourth-largest economy.
It was the ratings agency's first upgrade for South Korea in seven years and followed similar moves in the past few weeks by Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings.
"The upgrade reflects our less negative assessment of the geopolitical risks on the Korean peninsula," Standard & Poor's said in a statement, citing a "smooth" leadership transition in North Korea following the death of Kim Jong-Il in December.
Although South Korea's economy is slowing, the agency said it expected the country's "economic and financial metrics to continue to support the long-term foreign currency rating at the 'A-plus' level."
In June, South Korea revised its economic growth forecast for 2012 down to 3.3 percent from its earlier projection of 3.7 percent, mainly as a result of weak exports, caused by a weak U.S. economy and the eurozone debt crisis.
Source: Agence France Presse
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