Malta enjoying one of the strongest macroeconomic expansions in the eurozone – Scicluna says

Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna yesterday welcomed the latest credit rating report by Standard and Poor’s affirming Malta’s rating at ‘A-/A-2 with a stable outlook supported by the country’s strong growth performance coupled with consistent current account surpluses, as well as by narrowing general government deficits and improved fiscal management.

“This report,” he said, comes on the morrow of the NSO statistical report on Malta’s public finances whereby Malta achieved a surplus in 2016 after 35 consecutive years of deficits. The government deserves to be proud of these achievements.”

Standard and Poor’s, he noted, acknowledges the robust growth recorded by the Maltese economy stating that Malta continues to enjoy one of the strongest macroeconomic expansions in the eurozone.

It positively noted that the significant investment projects in en- ergy, healthcare, education, and hospitality in the last three years as important drivers of growth. These sectors are also expanding base for further future export growth.

Standard and Poor’s also notes that growth was also supported by the increase in the labour force participation rate especially amongst females attributing such increases to government’s labour market policies including the making work pay initiatives and the provision of free childcare centres.

With regard to Brexit, the report states that Malta is generally wellplaced to withstand Brexit shocks, as it has a diversified export base and a flexible economy.

Standard and Poor’s commented positively on Malta’s fiscal management stating that it has improved as Malta has made considerable progress in fiscal consolidation. It also expects the debtto-GDP ratio to continue on a declining trend, falling to 53.8 per cent by 2020 while net debt is expected to fall to 47 per cent.