Moody’s, the bond credit rating agency, upgraded Greece’s credit rating on Friday, giving the country’s market a boost amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
The country’s rating went from a B1 to a B3, signaling the possibility of economic recovery in the coming year. The rating most likely did not factor in the nation-wide lockdown that began on Saturday morning.
In its report, Moody’s praised Greece’s economic rebound, stating “Ongoing reforms support a sustainable improvement in institutional strength and have already brought tangible progress in areas including tax administration and compliance and the fight against corruption.”
The agency noted that, despite the pandemic’s impact on tourism, Greece’s largest economic sector, “the country’s growth prospects over the coming years are positive notwithstanding the negative near term impact of the pandemic.”
Moody’s also commented that the country’s economy “will benefit from ongoing efforts to improve the investment climate coupled with inflows of very substantial European recovery funds.”
In a tweet on Saturday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the rating a “strong vote of confidence in the growth prospects of the Greek economy post covid.”
Greece’s Finance Minister Christos Staikouras stated that the rating boost “is a particularly positive development for our country” and that the rating “took place in conditions of unprecedented recession in the global economy and in the national economies, as well as of high uncertainty caused by the pandemic.”
Staikouras added that the rating indicates increased international confidence in Greece’s economic recovery and the government’s handling of the economic crisis.
Source: Greek Reporter
