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Moody's Boosts Turkey's Rating to Investment Grade
By Nathalie Tadena
Moody's Investors Service raised its rating on Turkey into investment grade Thursday, pointing to the country's improvements in key economic and public finance metrics and progress on reforms that will reduce its external vulnerabilities over time.
Moody's upgraded Turkey's government-bond ratings by a notch to Baa3, the first step into investment grade, from Ba1. The outlook is stable.
The ratings firm noted Turkey's debt burden has decreased by 10 percentage points to 36% of gross domestic product since the beginning of 2009, a trend that is expected to continue in the coming years. Moody's said Turkey's ability to finance its outstanding stock of debt is supported by relatively low and decreasing share of its debt that is denominated in foreign currency. Moody's added that Turkey's revenue streams have been resilient in recent years, noting general government revenue has been on an upward trajectory since 2009.
Additionally, the government's progress on a wide-ranging institutional reform program is expected to reduce Turkey's vulnerabilities to shocks to international capital flows over time, Moody's said. The firm noted Turkey's policy actions address the role energy plays in driving up the current-account deficit, as well as the country's weak saving rate and its overall competitiveness.
Turkey's government is pursuing a strategy of focusing on energy efficiency and reducing reliance on imported hydrocarbons through nuclear power, domestic energy sources and renewables. Moody's said energy imports are a key contributor to Turkey's current-account deficit, but said it expects the government's energy policy will cause those pressures to decline over time.
Earlier this year, a new incentive program to increase investment in personal pensions went into effect. Last year, the government adopted a commercial code aimed at improving corporate-governance standards and overall competitiveness.
Moody's cited Turkey's size, wealth, economic diversification and growth prospects as its economic strengths though the firm noted Turkey has some of the highest external vulnerabilities among investment-grade sovereigns.
In March, fellow ratings firm Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its sovereign credit rating on Turkey to double-B-plus, one level below investment grade, saying the country's export performance has strengthened.
-Write to Nathalie Tadena at nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com
By Nathalie Tadena
Moody's Investors Service raised its rating on Turkey into investment grade Thursday, pointing to the country's improvements in key economic and public finance metrics and progress on reforms that will reduce its external vulnerabilities over time.
Moody's upgraded Turkey's government-bond ratings by a notch to Baa3, the first step into investment grade, from Ba1. The outlook is stable.
The ratings firm noted Turkey's debt burden has decreased by 10 percentage points to 36% of gross domestic product since the beginning of 2009, a trend that is expected to continue in the coming years. Moody's said Turkey's ability to finance its outstanding stock of debt is supported by relatively low and decreasing share of its debt that is denominated in foreign currency. Moody's added that Turkey's revenue streams have been resilient in recent years, noting general government revenue has been on an upward trajectory since 2009.
Additionally, the government's progress on a wide-ranging institutional reform program is expected to reduce Turkey's vulnerabilities to shocks to international capital flows over time, Moody's said. The firm noted Turkey's policy actions address the role energy plays in driving up the current-account deficit, as well as the country's weak saving rate and its overall competitiveness.
Turkey's government is pursuing a strategy of focusing on energy efficiency and reducing reliance on imported hydrocarbons through nuclear power, domestic energy sources and renewables. Moody's said energy imports are a key contributor to Turkey's current-account deficit, but said it expects the government's energy policy will cause those pressures to decline over time.
Earlier this year, a new incentive program to increase investment in personal pensions went into effect. Last year, the government adopted a commercial code aimed at improving corporate-governance standards and overall competitiveness.
Moody's cited Turkey's size, wealth, economic diversification and growth prospects as its economic strengths though the firm noted Turkey has some of the highest external vulnerabilities among investment-grade sovereigns.
In March, fellow ratings firm Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its sovereign credit rating on Turkey to double-B-plus, one level below investment grade, saying the country's export performance has strengthened.
-Write to Nathalie Tadena at nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com