April 10 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian branch of France-based credit insurance company Euler Hermes said on Monday it affirmed Bulgaria's credit rating at 'B2'.
"Bulgaria's rating is at the top of the scale of the 'B' indicator and the '2' indicator. However, there is a combination of risk factors which does not allow us to raise the ratings for the time being, and we do not expect this to be possible in 2017," Manfred Stamer, chief analyst at Euler Hermes, said in a statement.
According to Euler Hermes, Bulgaria's foreign debt ratio of about 74% of GDP in 2016 and the forecast of around 72.5% in 2017 and 2018 is significantly higher than the emerging economies benchmark of 50%.
The country's non-performing loans ratio, which remain at 20%, is the highest in Central and Eastern Europe, the credit insurance agency noted.
Bulgaria's inflation is projected to reach 1.6% in 2017 and 2.2% in 2018, Euler Hermes also said. In 2016 the country's inflation was 0.1%.
According to Euler Hermes, Bulgaria's economy will expand by 2.8% in 2017 and 2018, slowing down from 3.4% growth in 2016.