Confirmation of the A+ credit rating reflects the global economic system’s confidence that Israel will succeed financially following the coronavirus pandemic.
By TPS
International credit rating company Fitch Ratings affirmed Israel’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at ‘A+’ with a “stable outlook,” lending support to Israel’s financial conduct, especially amid the global coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Fitch says that the global repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic containment measures will cause Israel’s real GDP to contract by 5.6% in 2020, but projects a rebound in 2021, with GDP growing by 5%.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon stated on Friday that the “confirmation of Israel’s credit rating indicates the great confidence of the global economic system that the State of Israel will succeed following the global crisis [caused by] the coronavirus.”
“This is what gives hope to Israeli citizens that the Israeli economy will return to its economic strength as it was on the eve of the crisis,” he said.
Accountant General Roni Hezekiah added that this high ranking “during an era of unprecedented global crisis demonstrates the [Fitch’s] confidence in the Israeli economy and emphasizes the importance of maintaining fiscal discipline as we deal with the consequences of the corona [crisis] in Israel.”