Hot Port news from GAC
21-Aug-2019
CANAL’S ‘A’ RATING AFFIRMED WITH STABLE OUTLOOK
Panama Canal, Panama
Canal’s ‘A’ rating affirmed with stable outlook
Wednesday, August 21, 2019, Panama Canal, Panama
For the fourth consecutive year, Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Panama Canal’s ‘A’ investment grade rating with a stable outlook for its long-term issuer default rating and its senior unsecured notes.
The credit rating agency noted that the Panama Canal is “an underlying asset that is critical not only for Panama, but for international commerce, as demonstrated by its stable volume performance, solid competitive position, and well-diversified cargo mix,” causing the Panama Canal volume profile to exhibit high levels of resilience. In addition, Fitch Ratings distinguished the Canal as a key player in global trade with a privileged geographical position…
…In May 2019, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings raised the Panama Canal’s rating to ‘A’ from ‘A-‘, ranking the Canal two notches above that of the sovereign foreign currency. In addition, Moody’s Investment Services stated that the A1 rating of the Panama Canal’s reflects its strong performance after the opening of the Neopanamax Locks mid-2016…
(For information about operations in the Panama Canal, contact GAC Panama at operations.panama@gac.com)
Source: Extracts from Panama Canal Authority (www.pancanal.com) Press Release dated 16 August 2019
