Victoria’s triple-A credit rating confirmed
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1 September 2009
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Standard & Poor’s has affirmed Victoria’s triple-A credit rating in its annual review of the state’s economy and predicted a stable outlook.
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The rating agency conducts a yearly assessment of the State's economic structure and prospects; financial performance and outlook; balance sheet position; liquidity and debt management strategy; and the government's fiscal strategy.
Standard & Poor’s noted that the strength of Victoria’s balance sheet prior to the economic downturn meant the State had some capacity to undertake additional capital expenditure without threatening the triple-A rating.
Victorian Treasurer John Lenders said a decade of strong financial performance provided Victoria with solid fundamentals to help confront the Global Financial Crisis.
“In its analysis, Standard & Poor’s highlighted our ongoing fiscal discipline and the strength of the Government’s balance sheet,” Mr Lenders said.
“This triple-A rating is an endorsement of the Brumby Government’s financial management over a long period, and reinforces Victoria’s position at the top of the Australian States in terms of financial strength,” he said.
This performance is underscoring Victoria’s attractiveness as a destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as it displays a buoyant resilience to the global economic downturn.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently noted that Australia is in an enviable fiscal position by international standards, projecting that economic growth will return to 1 ½ per cent in 2010 – led by government spending on infrastructure such as roads, rail and ports, energy efficiency projects, and broadband.
The Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has reported that business confidence and business conditions are back up to levels last seen in 2007. He noted that business confidence, rising steadily over the last few months, is now just below the 2007 average.
Speaking recently to the Australian Industry Group, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry said that the Australian economy may be seen as offering the best of both worlds: the best qualities of governance and flexibility displayed by the developed world, and an abundance of real investment opportunities usually found only in the developing world. |
