Fitch: Finland still in triple-A debt club
The ratings agency Fitch has re-affirmed Finland's AAA rating and stable outlook.
Finland's Finance Ministry said on Monday that Fitch confirmed the triple-A rating on Thursday. The country’s government debt is also rated at the highest AAA grade by Moody’s and Standard & Poor.
Fitch has a stable outlook on Finland’s rating, suggesting that the agency views Finland as able to withstand turbulence in the rest of the eurozone area.
The agency notes that Finland's external position weakened last year, with its current account dipping into deficit for the first time in nearly two decades. This was partly due to a shift from manufacturing to service industries, it said.
Fitch observed that Nokia, which is responsible for about one percent of Finland's GDP, has slumped in recent years. The agency does not expect Nokia's weakening to seriously threaten Finland's 'AAA' sovereign rating, "it does underscore the broader structural challenges and adjustment facing the ICT and manufacturing sectors," adds Fitch.
Finland earned praise for its "robust" public finances and "strong track record of fiscal prudence".
Fitch rates Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as the only AAA-rated eurozone countries.
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