[07/09/2024 04:29]

AMMAN-SABA
Standard & Poor's has affirmed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan's long-term sovereign credit rating in national and foreign currency from B+ to BB – with a stable outlook.

The Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported that the rating comes from Standard & Poor's for the first time in 21 years despite external global and regional shocks.

Standard & Poor's pointed out in its report that the rating hike came as a result of the public financial management remaining on track despite the challenges facing the government due to the war on Gaza and achieving its goals during the past year to reduce the ratio of primary deficit to GDP is one of the important factors that prompted the agency to raise Jordan's credit rating.

It reported that the upgrade also came as a result of "the government's adoption since 2019 of a set of structural reforms that contributed to expanding the tax base and improving the business environment, which has enhanced the ability to grow economically, according to the agency, and will put the public debt on a downward path in the coming years," in addition to the strong international support that Jordan enjoys.

On the monetary front, the agency noted that the rise in Jordan's total foreign reserves to $ 18.7 billion at the end of June 2024, would support the exchange rate peg to the dollar, and that the decline in the inflation rate to reach 1.7 percent in the first half of 2024 after reaching 3.0 percent during the same period in 2023 came due to lower housing and transportation costs.

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