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S&P Likely To Raise Ratings On Jamaica After Debt Exchange
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said it is likely to raise its ratings on Jamaica after the country completes a debt exchange.
The exchange offer, which officially launches Thursday, seeks to swap all categories of Jamaican domestic debt except Treasury bills. S&P downgraded Jamaica in November to CCC, and said Thursday that once the debt restructuring is complete, it expects to move the rating up two notches to B-. Such a move would get the country out of highly speculative territory.
The restructuring "should help Jamaica manage its long-standing fiscal and structural problems going forward," said analyst Sifon Arevalo.
S&P views the exchange as a distressed one, meaning Jamaica will be added to the ratings agency's default list. So-called distressed-debt exchanges are typically when investors get less than face value in the deal. In Jamaica's case, S&P noted the average interest rate on the debt will be cut while the maturity dates are extended.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@ dowjones.com;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-14-101428ET
Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said it is likely to raise its ratings on Jamaica after the country completes a debt exchange.
The exchange offer, which officially launches Thursday, seeks to swap all categories of Jamaican domestic debt except Treasury bills. S&P downgraded Jamaica in November to CCC, and said Thursday that once the debt restructuring is complete, it expects to move the rating up two notches to B-. Such a move would get the country out of highly speculative territory.
The restructuring "should help Jamaica manage its long-standing fiscal and structural problems going forward," said analyst Sifon Arevalo.
S&P views the exchange as a distressed one, meaning Jamaica will be added to the ratings agency's default list. So-called distressed-debt exchanges are typically when investors get less than face value in the deal. In Jamaica's case, S&P noted the average interest rate on the debt will be cut while the maturity dates are extended.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@ dowjones.com;
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-14-101428ET
Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.