S&P Retains Finland Ranking

Credit rating agency Standard &Poor’s keeps the rating for Finland unchanged at AA+, said the agency late Saturday. The agency noted in its statement that the prospect for Finland is stable. It said it could raise Finland back to triple A if the economic result exceeds expectations, Xinhua reported. S&P downgraded Finland from AAA to AA+ in the autumn of 2014 amid the continuous economic slowdown. The competitive edge of Finland improved last year, and external factors helped Finland to reach a growth path which has been the fastest since 2010. S&P predicted that growth would continue this year, but it said continued structural changes are be needed to ensure long term growth of Finnish economy. S&P gave the growth for 2018 as 2.5% and in 2019 as 1.6%. Statistcs Finland gave on Friday the growth for last year as 2.7%. The agency did not believe the current Finnish coalition would reach its pledged employment rate of 72%, but said it would be important for continued growth to attain it, against the backdrop of the Finnish age structure.