Erich Arispe, Director in Fitch's Sovereign Group, said the creation of a Regional Support Ministry, as suggested by President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK), will speed up investment and facilitate fight against poverty.
“An entity like this will channel public spending in better conditions and ease countercyclical measures; in addition, funds and government programs will achieve the expected economic impact,” he noted.
It will also facilitate the fight against poverty, mainly extreme poverty concentrated in rural areas.
Arispe said the creation of a Regional Support Ministry—aimed at speeding up investment— will contribute to institutional strengthening at the subregional level.
“This will help channel public spending in better conditions to those regions,” he stated.
“This will facilitate the application and impact of countercyclical measures,” he was quoted as saying by El Peruano official gazette.
On the other hand, he stressed the need to carry on with the National Plan for Productive Diversification to generate added value and, therefore, establish new engines of growth.
Mining should not be put aside, given its significant contribution to the national economy, mainly in exports, despite the current low prices.
Data
Fitch Rating’s credit rating for Peru stands at BBB+ with stable outlook. Arispe said no change is expected at present.
Peru’s overall poverty rate fell from 31% in 2010 to 22% in late 2015, down almost 9 percentage points in five years at a pace of 2 points per year.
(END) DOP/SDD/JJN/RMB/MVB
Published: 7/21/2016