MANILA – Moody’s Investors Service has retained the credit rating and outlook of the Philippines and four other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Moody’s retained the Baa2 rating on a stable outlook for the Philippines. Last year, the debt watcher upgraded the country’s credit rating to Baa2, which is a notch above the minimum investment grade.

The outlook was maintained for Indonesia (Baa3, stable) Malaysia (A3, positive), Singapore (Aaa, stable), and Thailand (Baa1, stable).

The ratings of the five ASEAN countries were retained amid the depreciation of currencies in the region.

“We maintain stable or positive rating outlooks on the six above sovereigns. While export weakness and capital outflows are credit negative, currency flexibility combined with respective governments’ ongoing efforts to improve macroeconomic conditions offsets these trends,” Moody’s said in its latest report.

It also said ASEAN members have strengthened since the late 1990s.

“Robust global growth and low interest rates facilitated credit improvements. But the external environment is now less supportive, so sovereign credit trends will hinge on whether governments can animate domestic sources of growth without increasing financial risks,” it said.

Moody’s said ASEAN exports in 2015 were weak due to a slowdown in global demand.

It noted that the Philippines and Malaysia have the largest share of portfolio investments in their investment liabilities, noting that the Philippines was able to avoid similar outflows due to its stable economic and policy conditions.

“Capital outflows from the Philippines have been quite mild given its strong economic fundamentals and relatively stable policy outlook,” Moody’s said.