TIRANA, February 2 /ATA/- The International Rating Agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P), in its latest review (February 1, 2021), confirmed for Albania the current rating in “B +”, as well as a “stable” perspective.
S&P predicts that by 2021 the economy will grow by about 4.5%, with the assumption that there will be no other strong wave of infections, which could lead to another lockdown, and estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions related to the movement of people, caused the Albanian economy to contract by about -5% in 2020.
The pandemic has had a direct impact especially on the tourism sector. The impact of this sector on the Albanian economy according to Standard & Poor’s may be even more pronounced than in the countries of the region due to the higher weight that this sector occupies in Albania.
S&P states that revenue losses, additional costs associated with the pandemic, as well as increased capital expenditures caused the deficit in 2020 to expand to about 6.7% of GDP, from 1.9% in 2019. The agency projected that the ratio of total government debt to GDP is expected to fall from 2022 onwards, while the economy recovers, the effect of support measures is gradually extinguished.
The agency said some government efforts will support consolidation in the coming years.
According to S&P, the authorities are actively pursuing efforts to improve the public debt profile, which is currently characterized by refinancing and exchange rate risk. /p.s./
