Fitch Ratings has upgraded Hungary’s Long-Term Foreign and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘.
According to MTI, the outlook for the ratings, two notches over the investment grade threshold, is ‘stable’.
Fitch announced that a rapid external deleveraging was among the main drivers for the upgrade. It noted that “Hungary’s net external debt fell to an estimated 10.2 percent of GDP in 2018 from an average of 34.4 percent in 2013-2017, supported by consistent current account surpluses, stable net FDI inflows, and capital transfers from the European Union.”
Mihály Varga said Fitch Ratings’ upgrade of Hungary can be added to the favorable feedback showing the economy is on the right track. The latest upgrade comes thanks to the work of Hungarians and businesses as well as the government’s economic policy, he added.
Minister Varga noted that the economy had expanded by 4.8 percent last year, three times the European average. “Now nobody can deny that the Hungarian economy is performing ever better and can continue to expand in the coming years,” he said.