Moody's reaffirms New Zealand's top AAA credit rating

New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English said in a statement Friday, the AAA sovereign credit rating of New Zealand by Moody's Investors Service proves the country has a faster and more stable growth in recent years.

Moody's has reaffirmed New Zealand's AAA sovereign credit rating with a stable outlook, noting the strength of the economy and improving government finances.

English said the Moody's has assessed New Zealand's fiscal strength as very high, which reflects a debt burden that is lower than the median for AAA-rated countries, along with the prospect of a return to budget surplus.

"As Moody's notes, New Zealand's main vulnerability is its external debt and structural current account deficits," said English. "Both of these indicators have improved somewhat in recent years and the government is focused on further improvement through its economic programme."

New Zealand is one of 14 countries with the top AAA rating and a stable outlook with Moody's.