Serbia Wins First Ever Investment Rating as S&P Lifts Bonds

  • Fitch and Moody’s both have positive outlooks on Serbia’s debt
  • Serbian FX bonds have outperformed EM peers in past months

Belgrade, Serbia.

Photographer: Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg
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Serbia’s sovereign credit score was upgraded by S&P Global Ratings, lifting its foreign-currency bonds out of junk status and starting the country’s transformation to an investment grade issuer.

S&P moved Serbia’s long-term sovereign rating one notch higher to BBB- from BB+, according to a statementBloomberg Terminal Friday. The outlook is stable. The ratings company now ranks Serbia’s credit worthiness at the same level as Hungary’s and Romania’s and one notch below that of Mexico.