The rating outlook remains stable."The affirmation of PLDT's rating reflects its leading market position and healthy margins, which, coupled with the management's financial discipline, will keep the company's leverage at around 2.6x-2.8x over the next 12-18 months," says Annalisa Di Chiara, a Moody's Senior Vice President and the Lead Analyst for PLDT. "However, a commitment to shareholder returns and high capex levels will continue to strain the company's free cash flow over the next one to two years."RATINGS RATIONALEThe affirmation of the rating reflects PLDT's (1) dominant market position in the Philippines' telecommunications market, (2) strong margins when compared with its global telecommunication peers in the Baa rating category, (3) solid credit profile, and (4) good liquidity.PLDT is the leading telecommunications provider in the Philippines, with a 49% share of mobile subscribers and over 50% share of market revenues at the end of 2020.