VALLETTA, Aug.12 (Xinhua) -- Rating agency Fitch has upgraded Malta's sovereign credit rating from A to A+ with a stable outlook, said Malta's government on Saturday.
Fitch defined one of the main contributors to this upgrade as the fast declining gross general government debt, which is expected to decrease to 50 percent of GDP in 2019. The agency also expected government-guaranteed liabilities to decline in the coming years.
Another main reason for this upgrade is the positive turnaround in the fiscal balance. Fitch expected Malta to continue achieving a fiscal surplus in the coming years; reduce unnecessary expenditure on social benefits and ease pension pressures; and support higher robust economic growth.
The agency expected the Maltese economy to continue growing at a faster pace than that of similarly rated countries, fueled by the solid performance of exports, notably in the services sector, a dynamic labour market, and investment.
It forecast Malta's GDP to grow at 4.3 percent this year, 3.7 percent in 2018 and 3.5 percent in 2019.
At the same time, Fitch pointed out that the country's high reliance on imports makes it vulnerable to external developments.
