S&P focuses more on politics in Asia-Pacific

This is because a government's policy response can either attenuate or exacerbate the macroeconomic challenges.

In the report titled " Politics And Policy Environment: Credit Constraint For Many, Support For A Select Few In Asia-Pacific," Standard & Poor's said political and policy environments received less attention, during the good times of the past several years, when rising corporate profitability and soaring markets buoyed investor sentiment, while governments had scope to boost spending, without diminishing their credit standing.

Many Asia-Pacific sovereigns have vastly improved their external liquidities, banking systems, fiscal consolidation and reduced their debt since the Asian financial crisis.

"However, a significant number of the 22 sovereigns rated by Standard & Poor's in Asia-Pacific continue to face political risks, such as domestic instability, weak policy environment, or in some cases external political risk, which either directly constrain their rating, or negatively affect other credit fundamentals," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Agost Benard. - The Nation