NICOSIA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Cyprus's credit ratings to investment grade for the first time in over 11 years, by raising its status two notches up, from Ba1 to Baa2, according to a statement issued by the agency late on Friday.
The agency also changed the outlook of the Cypriot economy from stable to positive.
Cyprus's government, in statements by President Nikos Christodoulides and Finance Minister Makis Keravnos, hailed the upgrading as a significant event which will translate into new opportunities and further investments.
Canadian agency DBRS, which was the first to raise Cyprus's ratings to investment grade since September 2021, also upgraded its ratings late on Friday by one notch from BBB (low) to BBB (high), citing the steady drop of the public debt.
Moody's said in its statement that "the two-notch upgrade of Cyprus' ratings to Baa2 from Ba1 reflects broad-based, sustained improvements in its credit profile because of past and ongoing economic, fiscal, and banking reforms."
Moody's cited as reasons for Cyprus's upgrading significant private and public investments and structural reforms, and also the "material improvement" of its fiscal strength.
Moody's said it expects the Cypriot economy to grow by 2.3 percent in 2023, 2.8 percent in 2024 and by 3.2 percent over 2025 to 2027.
As a result of economic growth, Moody's said that the public debt will be reduced from 86.5 percent in 2022 to 74 percent in 2024 and below 60 percent in 2027. ■
