PODGORICA (Montenegro), April 18 (SeeNews) – Moody's Investors Service has affirmed Montenegro's B1 credit rating and positive outlook, the country's ministry of finance said on Thursday.
The credit rating is a result of the high gross domestic product (GDP) growth, institutional strengthening supported by the perspective of EU accession, attractiveness for foreign direct investments, as well as significant investment projects in transport, energy and tourism, the finance ministry said in a statement, quoting a credit opinion report issued by Moody's on Tuesday.
The positive outlook reflects the favourable mid-term projections, supported by adequate structural reforms, but also by consolidation measures that the government is continuously implementing, which contributes to the strengthening of the fiscal position of Montenegro, the finance ministry noted.
Montenegro is the leading country in the process of joining the EU among the Balkan countries, which represents an incentive to improve the rule of law and institutional capacities in the coming years.
Moody's analysts expect Montenegro's economy to grow by 3.0% this year and by 3.2% in 2020, the finance ministry said.
Moody's said in September it changed the outlook on Montenegro's B1 long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to positive from stable. The key drivers of the upgrade are Montenegro's favourable medium-term growth outlook, supported by structural reforms, progress with respect to the country's EU accession negotiations and significant investment projects in transport, tourism and energy sectors, Moody's said at the time.