Uruguay receives highest credit rating in history from Standard & Poor's

Uruguay receives highest credit rating in history from Standard & Poor's

28 April 2023

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has raised Uruguay's credit rating two notches above the minimum investment grade. This represents the highest rating in the nation's history, following a similar upgrade from the Japanese rating agency R&I last October. The new BBB+ rating, up from BBB, reflects recent improvements to Uruguay's fiscal policy framework, including the expected approval of pension reform, which S&P says will help stabilise public finances and limit increases in debt.

S&P noted that Uruguay's stable and predictable economic policies and well-established institutions have supported steady economic growth. The agency also praised Uruguay's strong external position and highest per capita GDP in the region. However, S&P cautioned that Uruguay's relatively high inflation and the dollarisation of its financial system limit its monetary policy's flexibility.

Uruguay's Minister of Economy and Finance, Azucena Arbeleche, welcomed the credit rating upgrade, saying that it confirms investors' confidence in Uruguay's prudent fiscal management. Arbeleche said that this fiscal management has increased employment, lower taxes, and more resources for priority sectors such as low-income households, small businesses, healthcare, education, infrastructure, and housing.

For more information, read the announcements issued by S&P and Uruguay's Minister of Economy and Finance.

The Land Group

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