Last week American ratings agency, Standard and Poor’s issued its report on Israel’s economy. The ratings agency affirmed Israel’s highest ratings for both long term and short term obligations – A+ and A-1 respectively.
The Times of Israel reports that Israel benefited from “prosperous and diverse economy.” The ratings agency also predicted that Israel’s economy is stable and could expect robust growth in near future:
Israel’s economy is stable, and its prospects for growth are good, the agency said. GDP is expected to grow 3.2% in real terms in 2014, and a similar rate of growth is expected over the next three years as well.
Aiding that growth is the extra effort the government is putting in to reduce debt as a percentage of GDP. Currently that figure is at 67%, which is considered reasonable by international standards, and it is expected to drop to 61% by 2017, especially if interest rates don’t go up too much. Inflation is expected to remain low, as well, with annual rates of between 1.4% and 2.5% predicted through 2017.
Reflected in these judgments is the growth of Israel’s per capita income, which is now stands at $38,000 and is projected to rise to nearly $42,000 by 2017. In 2009, per capita income in Israel was $28,000. These figures, according to Standard and Poor’s mean that Israel is now considered “a high-income economy, with trend growth at the higher end of its peer income group.”
Globes adds that the ratings agency also judged Israel’s economy to have a “satisfactory degree of transparency and accountability.”
Israel’s economic health has been recognized by the World Economics Forum, which last year, hailed the country as a leader in developing “healthy, educated, and able workers.” Israel’s tech sector has been in the news with a string of high profile acquisitions in 2013 and even Israel’s entertainment industry has been seeing international success.
Standard and Poor’s rating reflects similar confidence in Israel’s economy that fellow ratings agency, Moody’s, reported last year.
For more on the increased—and increasingly profitable—investment opportunities available in Israel, read Joining the Start-Up Nation Just Got a Lot Easier by Ben Cohen, from the March 2014 issue of The Tower Magazine.
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