HONG KONG, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings upgraded Indonesia's credit rating on Monday to BB plus, one notch below investment grade, citing the country's strong resilience to the global financial crisis. The outlook on the rating is stable.
"The rating action reflects Indonesia's relative resilience to the severe global financial stress test of 2008-2009 which has been underpinned by continued improvements in the country's public finances, a fundamental sovereign rating strength, and a material easing of external financing constraints," said Ai Ling Ngiam, a director in Fitch's Sovereign Ratings team.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy is better placed than before to face abrupt portfolio outflows on the back of sudden investor risk aversion or oil price rises, due to exchange rate flexibility and improvement in external finances resulting from rising foreign exchange reserves, it said. (Reporting by Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Neil Fullick)