S&P keeps Serbia’s credit rating at BB-

The credit rating assessment agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has kept Serbia’s credit rating assessment at the BB- level, with a stable outlook to improving the credit rating.

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S&P believes that the successfully finalized reviews of the arrangement with the International Monetary Fund have contributed to maintaining investors’ trust in Serbia.

Although parliamentary and local elections were held in the current year, the significant support of the public towards carrying out fiscal reforms and a clear fiscal plan of the Government for 2016 have been pointed point.

According to the rating agency, it is expected that carrying out structural reforms will accelerate Serbia’s economic growth and influence the decrease in the budget deficit.

S&P cites an important fact of increased export which contributed to lowering the deficit in the current account balance to 4.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015, compared to 8.3% of GDP, which was the average in the period from 2011 to 2014.

The current account deficit, it is added, was more than covered by foreign direct investments in 2015 and amounted to a mere 5.5% of GDP.