Malta's A- rating reaffirmed by Standard & Poor's

Malta has retained its A- long-term rating with international rating agency Standard and Poor's.

The US financial services company cited Malta's "strong growth performance coupled with consistent current account surpluses, as well as by narrowing government deficits and improved fiscal management" in its decision to keep Malta within its A- bracket. 

It said the country's outlook remained stable, with the country's economic performance counterbalanced by risks related to service exports, the size and structure of Malta's financial services industry and potential Brexit fallout. 

S&P Global Ratings noted that the country's macroeconomic growth continued to outpace the Eurozone average and approved of both the interconnector and switch to gas-generated power, saying this brought "higher capacity and lower prices". 

The agency approvingly noted that more women had entered the workforce and said that inward migration had also bolstered labour supply. 

It predicted that GDP would grow by an average of 3 per cent a year between now and 2020, with government debt reaching 47 per cent of GDP by that date. 

The agency said that although Brexit fallout could affect Malta, the country...