This aerial image taken on February 19, 2022 shows the terminal of the Port of Piraeus in Greece. (Piraeus Container Terminal S.A./Handout via Xinhua)
The upgrade makes S&P the second rating agency among four that the European Central Bank consults before accepting the country's government bonds as collateral for loans to commercial banks.
ATHENS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Standard & Poor's has upgraded Greece's credit rating back to investment grade after 13 years, a move welcomed by the Greek government.
The ratings agency said on Friday it had upgraded Greece's credit rating to 'BBB-' from 'BB+' with a stable outlook, explaining that "significant budget consolidation has put Greece's fiscal trajectory on a markedly improving path".
It also said it expects the Greek budget to end the year with a primary surplus of 1.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to the government's target of 0.7 percent of GDP. It also forecasts growth of 2.5 percent this year.
Greek presidential guards stand at their positions in Athens, Greece, July 23, 2023. (Photo by Lefteris Partsalis/Xinhua)
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after being re-elected to office on 25 June, said that one of his government's main goals is to restore Greece's investment grade.
The upgrade to investment grade by S&P is "another official seal of the Greek economic recovery," he commented on social media on Saturday.
The update confirms that Greece has left behind a serious crisis that is steadily moving forward towards development, he added.
The upgrade makes S&P the second rating agency among four that the European Central Bank consults before accepting the country's government bonds as collateral for loans to commercial banks. Six weeks earlier, Canada's DBRS Morningstar also gave Greece an investment grade.
Other rating agencies, such as Scope Ratings and R&I, have also upgraded Greece to investment grade.
(Xinhua/USA)
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