Israel ranking in “International Investor’s” Country Credit Ratings falls

<a href=www.globes.co.il>More Zeev Klein   25 Mar 03   14:16

"International Investor's" did not refer to the possible ramifications the Iraq War and Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment as minister of finance may have on Israel’s economy.

Israel’s position on international financial markets is deteriorating. Israel’s ranking fell to 45th place in " International Investor's" Country Credit Ratings for 2002, with 56.1 points out a possible 100. The new score is a 2.5-point drop in Israel’s rating for its economic performance in the past six months.

The rankings appear in the bi-annual journal’s March issue.

Israel’s ranking has slipped seven places in the past 30 months since the outbreak of the intifada and high-tech crisis in late 2000.

"International Investor's" did not refer to the possible ramifications the Iraq War and Benjamin Netanyahu’s appointment as minister of finance may have on Israel’s economy. Nor is there any specific reference to the government’s new economic plan.

The main losers from global economic crises in 2002 were Uruguay, Argentine, Venezuela, Brazil, and Japan, which lost between 17.4 and 3.9 points.

The main winners last year were Russia, South Korea, Afghanistan and Lithuania, which gained between 9.5 and 4.5 points.

Switzerland, Luxembourg, the US, the Netherlands, and Norway led the 2002 Country Credit Ratings with between 95.3 and 92.8 points.

The lowest ranked countries were Afghanistan, Congo, Iraq, and North Korea, with between 6.7 and 8.9 points.

Israel fell from fifth to sixth place among the Middle Eastern countries in the ratings table. Israel is behind Kuwait, Cyprus, Qatar, and Oman, and ahead of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 25, 2003