Moody’s upgrades Belize credit rating to stable

(Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service on Monday raised Belize’s government bond rating to Caa2 from Ca, citing better government liquidity after a debt restructuring.

“The upgrade balances an improvement in the government’s liquidity position following a pre-emptive restructuring of its external commercial debt against a debt overhang that was not cured by the default and continues to impair Belize’s credit solvency,” Moody’s said in a statement.

The outlook is stable. Standard & Poor’s rates the country B-minus with a stable outlook.

Belize’s government said last month that it had met the required threshold needed to complete a debt exchange on the country’s US$550 million superbond, allowing the Caribbean nation to restructure its debt.