ZAGREB, March 23 (Rahnuma): Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said that Standard and Poor’s upgrade of Croatia’s credit rating is a proof that he is leading the country in the right direction.
He said on Friday night after the end of one of the longest sessions of the parliament that the stability of the institution is ensured and that it is a sign of continued reform. “The whole package we undertook with structural reforms, tax breaks and pension reform have enabled us to return investment grade,” said Plenkovic.
The rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S & P) announced on Friday that it had raised credit rating for Croatia. The rating for long-term borrowings in foreign currencies S & P has raised from “BB +/B” to “BBB-/A+” and Croatian long-term debts are no longer a speculative instrument, but an investment category.
The agency rated the southeastern European country as non-investment area in 2012.
For the prime minister, this is great news for Croatia and its economy, as the potential investor circle is widening, and it is an incentive for the government to continue with reforms and launch new ones.
Plenkovic said that many now acknowledge Croatia’s response to the crisis situation around the biggest Croatian company Agrokor and that further steps are being taken regarding the crisis in the shipyards Uljanik in Pula and “3. Maj” in Rijeka.
S&P estimates that the Croatian economy has been solid and balanced lately with a reduction in external debt. A further increase in credit rating has been announced over the next two to three years if the growth of the Croatian economy is resistant to the slowdown in the European economy.
The rating agency expects GDP growth in Croatia in the period from 2019 to 2022 to be 2.5 percent. The estimate is that inflation will amount to an average of 1.5 percent.
