In this sense, actions such as restructuring the company are needed, more than the debt, and that the company will eventually have to make it known to investors, considered the economist.
He explained that investors normally invest in investment grade bonds and not investment grade, so when a company loses this status they stop investing, but in this case it did not happen in the last review that Fitch Ratings made to the oil company “it almost does not matter if it is B or BB, the perspective did not change much due to Fitch’s change, but it did change when the rating agencies removed the investment grade,” he commented.
Last Friday, July 14, Fitch Ratings reduced the oil company’s long-term default rating to B+ from BB-. Fitch had already raised the state company’s rating to a non-investment or speculative range since April 2020, when at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic the company decided not to modify its plans despite market changes.
Throughout the current administration, the federal government has provided financial support to Pemex through the payment of debt amortizations and with fiscal support.
“The government is going to give support to Pemex because everyone in the government, and even in the political part, it is clear to them that having a debt problem in Pemex becomes a debt problem for the country, and nobody wants to get to that point, it is indisputable and it will continue to happen,” Casillas commented.
He argued that public finances are strong to help Pemex, since compared to 10 years ago, they had a greater dependence on oil revenues, contributing an average of 40% of the total revenues of the public sector, however currently they have less weight, with approximately 17%.
He stressed that the actions of the federal government aimed at the control and payment of taxes of large companies, has been one of the most important actions to keep public finances strong, as well as the management of public debt by not increasing as a proportion of GDP during the current administration.
