S038;P still pessimistic on India146;s credit rating

Rapid fiscal reform will only modestly curb these deficits, he said while illustrating India8217;s 8216;difficult8217; fiscal position with the following ratios: interest expense represents 47 per cent of general government revenues, gross general government debt exceeds 75 per cent of gross domestic product and government debt absorbs half of domestic credit.

Commenting on the general fiscal situation in Asia, he said trends in Asian sovereign credit standing will depend more on the fiscal stance of individual governments since most of the major asian economies have bolstered their external positions significantly.

On the fiscal position of China, he said the communist nation8217;s weakness in public finance remain a constraint on the BBB foreign currency rating on the country.