Ratings agency S&P noted in a report released late on Monday that Jordan was moving ahead with reforms aimed at enhancing investment, widening the tax base and targeting corruption, forecasting that fiscal imbalances will moderate in the coming years. Several ratings agencies have in recent months either upgraded or affirmed the country's credit ratings, including Moody's which last November upgraded the kingdom's rating outlook to positive from stable.
Jordan’s commitment to IMF reforms and investor confidence
in the outlook helped it to maintain stable sovereign ratings at
a time when other emerging markets were being downgraded, Al
Ississ said.
The IMF said at the end of last year that progress with
structural reforms had cushioned the economy and strengthened
macro-economic stability, boosting Jordan's growth in 2022
despite global economic turbulence.
Jordan's central bank governor Adel al Sharkas said the
rating outlook reflected the "soundness of Jordan's
macroeconomic fundamentals" at a time of global economic crisis.
"In light of the unfavorable environment, the move to
categorize Jordan as a stable economy makes it an attractive
destination for safe, long-term investments," he added.
(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
and Christina Fincher)
