Standard & Poor's downgrades Belize

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded the credit status of Belize, despite an improved outlook on the economy.



S&P gave Belize a triple-C-plus rating, seven steps below investment grade.



The Wall Street-based agency said it downgraded the country’s status, after Prime Minister Dean Barrow signaled less political will to service the country’s large debt.



However, it has described the country’s economic outlook as stable and suggests that the Central American nation’s debt management may improve after Belize’s upcoming general elections.



In November, the rating agency revised Belize’s economic outlook to negative, based on the government’s apparent disinclination to service its external debt.