Standard And Poor's Give Malta A Stable Outlook

Malta Media

13 August 2001

This story is reproduced by kind permission of Malta Media at: http://www.maltamedia.com

Standard and Poor’s have confirmed their ratings and given a stable outlook for Malta in a report released on Monday last week.

The government, in a statement released on Wednesday said that Standard and Poor’s commented positively on the indicators that are noticeable in the Maltese economy, especially the improvements registered in the budget balance.

Standard and Poor’s said that the general government deficit is forecast to narrow to 5.3% of GDP in 2001, from a peak of 13% in 1998, It said that this, reflects renewed efforts to broaden the tax base and contain public sector employment growth. It also forecast that it expects the government to exceed its budgetary deficit target of 4% of GDP in 2004 if the measures taken to control the deficit so far are enforced.

Standard and Poor’s report follows a similar assessment released by the Intenational Monetary Fund (IMF) last week. In its report, the IMF had said that while Malta's economy has improved, the country is still facing the challenges of the past few years such as the reduction of its large external deficit and making its monetary policy more flexible.

The Fund attributed the improvement in Malta’s economic performance to better policies implemented by the government and a better international economic environment. It also remarked that employment rose strongly and unemployment fell to 4%, inflation remained at bay.

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