S&P reaffirms Serbia's credit rating of BB+/B - Stable outlook for further increase

The rating agency Standard and Poor`s confirmed the credit rating of the Republic of Serbia at the level of BB+/B and maintained stable prospects for its further increase.

Thanks to well-planned, balanced and comprehensive measures to support the economy in the fight against the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, compared to other countries, as well as the resilience of key sectors to the pandemic impact, the negative effects of the pandemic are limited and reduced, and a good foundation for sustainable growth has been established - the official website of the Ministry of Finance states.

The agency praises the success that Serbia has achieved in the vaccination process and emphasizes that large and comprehensive packages of support measures have contributed to a minimal decline in gross domestic product in 2020 of only 1%. The Agency already expects the recovery of the economy during the current year and estimates that there will be a significant growth of gross domestic product of as much as 5% in 2021, as well as continuous growth in the coming years.

S&P points out that the moderate level of public debt before the pandemic created sufficient fiscal space to limit counter-cyclical measures and mitigated the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. The share of public debt in GDP is expected to stabilize as early as next year, and after that it will return to a downward trajectory.

S&P emphasizes that if the increase in the inflow of foreign direct investments, income from exports and foreign exchange reserves continues, despite all the risks, objective conditions will be created for the increase of the credit rating of the Republic of Serbia.