- Title: Colombia hopes to keep credit ratings, prepare pension proposal
- Date: 9th August 2017
- Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 9, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIA'S FINANCE MINISTER, MAURICIO CARDENAS, SAYING: "Compliance with the fiscal rule has been our commitment. We have not diverged in the slightest from that fiscal rule. So with any diversion, we would correct it by reducing costs. That's what we've done in the past and that's we would do as we go forward." CARDENAS WORKING ON DESK (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COLOMBIA'S FINANCE MINISTER, MAURICIO CARDENAS, SAYING: "This year we expect to grow by two percent, which is a low rate in Colombia's history. Next year, we expect to grow by three percent but we have to recover our potential growth that is forecast to being four percent. The main concern in Colombia at the moment is growth. We had problems with inflation, they've been solved. We also had a problem with a high external deficit, which has also been dealt with. The central theme is to accelerate economic growth."
- Embargoed: 23rd August 2017 17:16
- Keywords: Colombia Mauricio Cardenas Investment Summit Latin America economy
- Location: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- City: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- Country: Colombia
- Topics: Budget/Taxation/Revenue,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0036TFR39F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Colombia's Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas, sees no risk in the near future for the country's credit rating, as the government remains committed to boosting economic growth with fiscal discipline.
Rating agencies Fitch and Moody's maintain a "stable" outlook for Colombia. Standard & Poor's rated the outlook for the fourth Latin American economy as "negative" last year, before the approval of the tax reform, but the government is confident that it will rise soon.
The minister said he was optimistic despite the fact that Moody's said it could be difficult for the country to meet its fiscal targets because of lower economic growth, the risk of higher spending and lower-than-expected revenues.
Colombia recently lowered its economic growth target to two percent for this year from an initial 2.3 percent and by 2018 set a target of three percent, down from the previous 3.5 percent.
Before Moody's, Fitch had warned that rating could suffer if the fiscal situation undermines efforts to stabilise or reduce the debt burden in the short term. But the minister said the government remains committed to reducing the fiscal deficit and boosting economic growth, although analysts and economists see risks. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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