The Ministry for Finance welcomes the appraisal of credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s, which affirms that Malta’s economy is stable and expects it to grow in the coming years thanks to the new Government’s energy reform, and policies that increased female labour participation.

"The S&P Credit Rating Report, published today, reaffirmed Malta’s credit rating at 'BBB+/A-2', with a stable outlook."

In its report, S&P notes of “Malta's fairly strong institutional and governance effectiveness and its resilient economy”, and forecasts “the Maltese economy to grow by 2.4% this year and just over 2% on average over the next four years.”

The Ministry also welcomes S&P’s remarks that “there is a chance that Malta's economy could grow faster than we currently anticipate” if “tourism exports continued to outperform or if manufacturing, particularly microelectronics, recovered strongly.”

“For 2014, growth will likely be boosted by the construction of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant and an interconnector cable to Sicily, as well as by private consumption. We believe private consumption will benefit both from cuts in energy tariffs and from government policies that have increased female labour participation from relatively low levels.”

The Ministry also welcomes S&P’s estimate that “general government debt net of liquid assets reached 63% at end-2013 and will likely stabilize from this year thanks to fiscal consolidation and rising output.”

S&P’s appraisal that the new Government’s policy direction for its first year of governance, has resulted in a positive and encouraging economic turnaround, and that it has sown the seeds for further economic growth to come.

The Government remains determined to safeguard and maintain the sustainable finances and economic momentum that the country has achieved, in the interest of further economic growth and the creation of quality employment.