DUBLIN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Standard & Poor's, one of the top credit-rating agencies in the world, has upgraded Ireland's long-term sovereign credit rating from A+ to AA- with a stable outlook and its short-term rating from A-1 to A-1+, local media RTE reported on Saturday.
"This is Ireland's first long-term rating upgrade from S&P since June 2015 and returns Ireland to the AA rating category for the first time since entering the Troika programme in end 2010," said a statement from the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), a state-agency managing the assets and liabilities of the Irish government.
The Troika programme refers to a memorandum of understanding signed by the Irish government with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Dec. 16, 2010 on financial assistance to Ireland in order to cope with the post-2008 Irish financial crisis. Ireland exited the program on Dec. 15, 2013.
"Our new AA-rating will increase the pool of potential buyers of Irish Government bonds, which will be positive for demand and further enhancing our ability to diversify our investor base," said Conor O'Kelly, chief executive of the NTMA, in the statement.
The AA-rating is S&P's fourth highest long-term rating after AAA, AA+ and AA while the A-1+ rating is its highest short-term rating, to the statement noted.
S&P upgraded Ireland's ratings on Friday, said the statement.
