S&P changes Poland’s outlook

WARSAW: Rating agency S&P Global surprisingly changed the outlook on Poland´s BBB+ sovereign rating to positive from stable on Friday citing the country´s robust economic and fiscal performance.

S&P, which currently has the lowest rating on Poland from the three major rating agencies, said the positive outlook indicated an increased likelihood that it would upgrade Poland within the next 24 months.

"Our decision to revise the outlook to positive from stable reflects our view that Poland´s economic expansion will last longer than we had previously thought, benefiting fiscal performance more than we had previously projected," S&P said.

Twelve out of fourteen analysts polled by Reuters earlier this week expected the rating and the outlook to remain unchanged. Just one expected the outlook to be improved.

"The outlook revision also speaks to our rising confidence that tax administration reforms have generated a secular increase in public revenues of around 0.5 percent of GDP," the agency said. S&P also said it could raise Poland´s rating if the economy continued to expand at a buoyant pace without generating large net external financing needs, and should government debt to GDP remain on a clear downward trend. Poland´s Finance Minister Teresa Czerwinska welcomed the outlook change.