The Japanese rating agency Rating and Investment Information (R&I) announced that it has upgraded Greece’s Foreign and Domestic Currency Issuer Ratings to investment grade BBB-, with a stable outlook.
In a report, R&I cited six positive developments for its decision:
- Τhe big electoral win of the governing party in June, a result that safeguarded the continuation of policies aiming to rejuvenate the Greek economy and fiscal restructuring and raised expectations for higher growth rates based on investments and reforms, along with a steady improvement of public debt.
- The Greek economy grew more than the eurozone average in 2022 and it was projected to grow strongly this year.
- Progress in restructuring NPEs, leading the NPE rate to single-digit levels.
- Improvement in the fiscal balance. The government reported a small primary surplus in 2022 and envisaged a primary surplus of 1.1% of GDP this year.
- General government debt fell to 171.3% of GDP in 2022, from more than 200% in 2020, with the government expecting the public debt to fall to 162.6% in 2023.
- Efforts to secure additional funding from REPowerEU Plan.
