State of Sarawak’s 'A-' rating affirmed, with stable outlook

KUALA LUMPUR - Global raatings agency Standard and Poors today affirmed its A-  rating for Sarawak, saying that an exceptional budgetary performance and liquidity would likely mitigate the Malaysian State's elevated debt, supporting its creditworthiness.

"We expect the State's new revenue sources, including sales tax on petroleum exports, to mostly offset elevated infrastructure and development spending over the next three to four years," S&P said.

"We are affirming our 'A-' long-term issuer credit rating on Sarawak. We are also affirming the 'A-' long-term issue ratings on the notes that EII and SSG issued."

S&P said the stable outlook reflected its expectation that Sarawak would maintain strong fiscal and liquidity over the next two years.  www.standardandpoors.com (ATI).