Jerusalem, 19 April 2000
Finance Ministry: Moody's to Re-examine Israel's Credit Rating
(Communicated by Finance Ministry Spokesman)
The Ministry of Finance yesterday (Tuesday) 18.4.2000, reports that
Moody's Investors Service has announced its decision to re-evaluate the
credit rating of the State of Israel with the possible intention of
raising it from A-+ to A within the coming weeks. Moody's will also
re-evaluate Israel's short and long-term credit rating for Shekel and
foreign currency debt.
Moody's currently gives Israel an A3 credit rating regarding foreign
currency debt (equivalent to Standard and Poor's A- rating), and A2
regarding it Shekel debt (equivalent to A). The decision to re-evaluate
follows improvements in forecasts for medium- and long-term economic
development and the expectation that the affect of geo-political
conditions on the Israeli economy will lessen and therefore will have a
limited effect on Israel's credit rating.
Moody's representatives will visit Israel soon in order to receive
updates on the economic situation, with a focus on the public sector,
the pension system and labor market, after which they will submit their
recommendations regarding the possible change in Israel's credit rating.
Finance Minister Avraham Shohat expressed satisfaction with the
announcement, stating that it reflects positive developments in the
Israeli economy and the international community's trust in the economy's
functioning. Accountant-General Nir Gilad stated that raising Israel's
credit rating will contribute to the government's ability to raise
capital in international markets, reduce the cost of capital and
position Israel in a worthy place among the world's developed economy's.