(ATR) Rio de Janeiro has a better credit rating than the federal government of Brazil.
Assessed by credit agency Standard & Poor’s, the 2016 Olympic host will maintain its global BBB and national brAAA rating with a stable outlook.
In comments to Around the Rings, Mayor Eduardo Paes says the rating shows the strength of the municipal government finances ahead of the Olympics.
"For the second year we have a rating higher than the country’s. It means that the city is keeping the commitments and payments up to date. The rating affirmation is very important since it previews that Rio has the fiscal capacity to keep investing in the future, which includes the Olympic Games next year.
"That is, to me, another display that the Rio Games will be the Games of social change: after 2016, Rio will have delivered big infrastructure projects to the residents, without harming its finances," Paes tells ATR.
According to the report, "large cash reserves, adequate budgetary flexibility, relatively high operating surplus and strong culture of credit," were cited as why Rio maintained its credit rating.
The economy of Brazil has slowed down since the 2014 World Cup with President Dilma Rousseff receiving only 13 percent approval in recent polls. The same poll, released on Apr. 11, showed that 63 percent of Brazilians favor impeachment of Rousseff.
Large-scale protests against Rousseff have taken place in Sao Paolo and are planned for the capital Brasilia in May. Over 275,000 people protested against president Rousseff on Mar. 15 in Sao Paolo.
"With our fiscal capacity, we have conditions to maintain all of the commitments agreed for the Olympic Games," Paes said.
Rio de Janeiro has seen a massive increase in investment in the city due to the Olympic project, with $1.4 billion being spent on infrastructure projects around the city last year.
Concerns over the delivery of venues and infrastructure projects such as a new subway line were alleviated when the IOC Coordination Commission visited the city at the end of February.
Written by Aaron Bauer
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
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