JAKARTA, Indonesia — Standard & Poor's raised Indonesia's sovereign credit rating to investment grade on Friday in recognition of a stable governing coalition and improved control over government finances. The ratings agency said the long-term rating was raised to "BBB minus," which signifies adequate ability to repay national debts, from "BB plus," which indicates a country is vulnerable to default. Until now, S&P was the only major credit rating agency to not assign Indonesia an investment grade rating. Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, with more than 250 million people, and a member of the G-20 bloc of major industrial and developing economies. "News and information generally flow freely in Indonesia, with key policy and other changes well publicized and debated," it said.

Source: The China Post May 19, 2017 10:18 UTC