LJUBLJANA, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Global credit rating agency Moody's has upgraded Slovenia's long-term issuer and senior unsecured bond ratings by one notch to A3 from Baa1, changing the outlook to stable from positive, Slovenia's Ministry of Finance announced on Saturday.

According to Moody's, the rise in the credit rating was mainly influenced by two factors -- "The improvement of Slovenia's debt burden and debt affordability metrics relative to peers," and "the significant improvement of the health of the banking system, as well as the completion of the privatization of the country's largest banks."

"Considering that at this time ratings agencies are downgrading countries' ratings or keeping them unchanged, the upgrade places Slovenia among the most reliable countries for foreign investors," the ministry said in a press release.

The agency expected that the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the fiscal metrics of EU member states, holding that due to the significant improvements made by Slovenia, the country's economic and fiscal strength will remain resilient to the continued economic and fiscal impact of the coronavirus.

Although Moody's expected Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 6.7 percent this year, it said the Slovenian economy's growth potential will remain broadly intact beyond the current crisis.

Moody's last upgraded Slovenia's credit rating in September 2017 to Baa1 with a stable outlook, which it changed to positive in April 2019. Enditem

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