Standard & Poor's confirms stable outlook for Montenegro

The credit rating agency "Standard and Poor’s” published a new Report for Montenegro, which confirmed the previous outlook of our country that has been marked as "stable", while preserving the B + / B rating.

Credit analysts of this agency confirmed that Montenegro is on the right track of development.

Assessing the trends in the Montenegro’s economy, the "Standard and Poor's" emphasized the significant results achieved in the sectors of tourism and energy and the significant inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The strong performance of the tourism sector supported the real growth of almost 5 %in 2018, which is the highest growth that Montenegro recorded in the past decade. This trend is continued in 2019 due to the fact that tourist arrivals for the first six months increased by 20 % compared to the same period last year.

Significant foreign investments provide great contribution to the rating. The "Standard and Poor's" projections, will amount to an average 10 % of GDP per year in the next four years and they are mainly concentrated in the real estate sector, the hospitality and the energy. The ongoing projects in the hospitality sector include several high category costal resorts and hotels for tourists with preferences in the area of mountain tourism.

At the same time, the representatives of this credit agency welcome the completion of several significant projects in the energy sector, such as the reconstruction and upgrading of power plants, the new capacities for production of electricity and the Montenegro – Italy submarine cable that will enable Montenegro to export electricity. According to the Report, announced sectors represent the base for further growth of the Montenegro’s economy and the potential to boost Montenegro’s credit rating.

Furthermore, they consider that the construction of the highway, as a public investment encouraged growth as well. After completion, the Government expects that the highway will connect the coast of the port of Bar and the border with Serbia, bringing together remote regions and improving road safety.

At the end, the "Standard and Poor's" welcomes the Montenegro’s EU path as a candidate country, highlighting the important potential in the implementation of the reforms, which harmonise with the EU acquis and a large part of the population support to the EU integration, in addition to the stating that Montenegro has built relatively strong institutional frame in the regional context.