Il-Ministeru għall-Finanzi jilqa’ bi pjaċir l-aħħar credit rating tal-aġenzija internazzjonali Standard and Poor’s li kkonfermat ir-rating ta’ Malta ta’ ‘A-/A-2’ bi prospetti pożittivi.

Skont din l-aġenzija rinomata l-prospetti pożittivi ta’ Malta huma frott it-tkabbir ekonomiku b’saħħtu, surpluses konsistenti fil-kont kurrenti tal-pajjiż xprunat l-aktar mill-esportazzjoni tas-servizzi, u t-titjib fil-pożizzjoni tal-gvern f’dak li għandu x’jaqsam mat-tnaqqis fid-dejn u miżuri fiskali oħra.

Standard and Poor’s tikkonferma r-rating ta’ malta bħala ‘A-/A-2’ bi prospetti pożittivi

STQARRIJA MILL-MINISTERU GĦALL-FINANZI

Il-Ministru għall-Finanzi Edward Scicluna sostna li l-gvern huwa impenjat li jkompli jsostni s-suċċess finanzjarju u fl-istess waqt issaħħaħ l-istandards regolatorji u superviżorji tal-istituzzjonijiet tal-pajjiż.

Fir-rapport tagħha Standard and Poor’s qalet li dan il-credit rating jikkonferma l-ħidma sfieqa tal-awtoritajiet Maltin li jsaħħu l-istandards superviżorji u l-koperazzjoni mal-Awtorità Bankarja Ewropea. Dan jirreferi għall-pjan ta’ azzjoni li l-Korp għall-Analiżi ta’ Informazzjoni Finanzjarja (FIAU) ssottometta lill-istess awtorità li fost l-oħrajn jinkludi ż-żieda fl-allokazzjoni ta’ fondi kif ukoll fin-numru ta’ ħaddiema fil-Korp għall-Analiżi ta’ Informazzjoni Finanzjarja (FIAU) sabiex jaħdmu fuq inizjattivi li jindirizzaw il-ħasil tal-flus.

Sadanittant, Standard and Poor’s qed tipprevedi li l-ekonomija Maltija tkompli tikber b’rata mgħaġġla; bit-tkabbir tal-Prodott Gross Domestiku mistenni li jeċċedi dak ta’ pajjiżi oħra li għandhom kemm livell ta’ dħul kif ukoll stadji ta’ żvilupp simili. Dawn il-prospetti jirriflettu l-impenn li għandu dan il-gvern li jkompli jinċentiva l-investiment u l-inġaġġ ta’ riżorsi umani.

Ir-rapport ta’ din l-aġenzija internazzjonali tal-kreditu jinnota li t-tkabbir ekonomiku ta’ Malta kompla jiżdied għall-medja ta’ 7.7% bejn l-2014 u l-2018.  L-istess rapport innota wkoll li ċ-ċaqliq strutturali fl-ekonomija Maltija ħoloq aktar opportunitajiet ta’ impjiegi u fl-istess waqt naqqas ir-rata ta’ qgħad għal 3.8% fl-2018; liema figura hija l-inqas waħda reġistrata fl-aħħar għoxrin sena.

Standard and Poor’s tinnota li l-gvern mhux biss kompla jsaħħaħ il-finanzi imma kompla jnaqqas id-dejn meta kkumparat mal-Prodott Gross Domestiku kif ukoll kompla jintroduċi numru ta’ riformi strutturali. Dawn jinkludu t-tnaqqis fil-kontijiet tad-dawl u tal-ilma kif ukoll żieda fin-numru ta’ parteċipazzjoni tan-nisa fis-suq tax-xogħol.

L-aġenzija qed tantiċipa li l-politiki makroekonomiċi se jibqgħu jindirizzaw konsolidazzjoni fiskali u fl-istess waqt qed jipprevedu li fis-snin li ġejjin l-ekonomija Maltija tkompli tikseb surplus biex dan ikompli jgħin fit-tnaqqis tad-dejn tal-pajjiż.

The Ministry for Finance welcomes the latest credit rating published by Standard and Poor’s affirming Malta’s Rating at A-/A-2 with a Positive Outlook.

PRESS RELEASE BY THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE

According to Standard and Poor’s, Malta’s positive rating is attributed to “its strong growth performance, recurring current account surpluses driven by its large services exports, and the Government’s improving budgetary and debt positions, and fiscal management.”

Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna stated that “we will remain fully committed to sustain our economic and fiscal success while strengthening the regulatory and supervisory standards of Malta’s institutions.”

Indeed, the credit rating report acknowledges the Maltese authorities’ efforts to strengthen supervisory standards and their cooperation with the EBA. It refers to the FIAU’s submission of the action plan to the EBA, which included an increase in the overall budget and staff of FIAU to accommodate the AML initiatives, as an example in this regard.

Standard and Poor’s expects the Maltese economy to continue to expand at a fast pace with GDP growth likely to exceed that of countries with similar income levels and stages of development. This, it adds, reflects the authorities’ commitment to policies incentivising investment and hiring.

The credit rating report notes that Malta’s real GDP growth accelerated to 7.7 per cent on average in the 2014 to 2018 period. It also notes that the structural shifts in the economy have created new employment opportunities while reducing the unemployment rate to 3.8 per cent in 2018, the lowest in two decades.

Standard and Poor’s acknowledge that the Government has consolidated its finances, reduced general government debt relative to GDP, and undertaken several structural reforms, notably those that have reduced the country’s energy bill and increased female participation in the labour market.

The credit rating agency further anticipates that macroeconomic policymaking will remain geared toward further fiscal consolidation. Indeed, they expect fiscal surpluses to continue in the coming years allowing the ratio of government debt to GDP to continue to decline.

      

Saturday 14th September 2019