Standard & Poor’s has affirmed the long and short-terms foreign and local currency credit ratings on Romania at ‘BBB/A-3’, maintaining the outlook stable.

The credit rating agency explains through a release that the ratings are supported by “Romania’s low and declining external debt stock, its narrowing general government deficits, and moderate stock of general government debt amid relatively firm growth prospects”.

The International Monetary Fund has revised the latest estimation on Romania’s economic progress (2.8 percent in July 2014) to 2.4 as per the World Economic Outlook report released on 7 October. Although anticipating a slower growth rate, the estimation is improved compared to the initial prediction of 2.2 percent. For the next year, though, the IMF maintained the projection, expecting an advance by 2.5 percent of the GDP.

The Ministry of Finance issued a draft law for amending the Law no. 297/2004 on the capital market. The bill, which can be checked on the ministry’s website, is aimed at aligning the current legislation to the existing standards in order for Romania be ranked as an emergent capital market, thus increasing external visibility and attracting new investors. This legislative approach is part of a broader initiative of a working group lead by the Bucharest Stock Exchange and which comprises representatives of the domestic capital market, the Financial Supervisory Authority and of the National Bank of Romania.