BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 12
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Georgia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to Stable from Negative and affirmed the IDR at ‘BB’, Trend reports via Fitch Ratings.
The Outlook revision reflects a much-improved macroeconomic baseline, and Fitch’s confidence that the Georgian authorities will continue implementing policies supporting macroeconomic stability and medium-term sustainability of public finances.
Georgia was hard hit by the pandemic, but it navigated the external shock well. A credible policy framework and strong support from official creditors increased external buffers despite higher financing needs.
This year’s projected strong economic recovery will help government debt to start declining, while accumulated fiscal buffers will help limit the pandemic-related risks.
Georgia’s economic recovery has gained surprising momentum. Estimates from national statistics (Geostat) show real GDP growth in the first six months of 2021 increased by 12.7 percent year-on-year.
Fitch forecasts Georgia’s government debt ratio to have peaked in 2020 at 60 percent of GDP, declining to 56 percent this year and to 55.2 percent in 2023.
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