ENTREPRENEURS yesterday urged the state to set the ambitious goal of attaining a triple ‘A’ credit rating so that Cyprus may join the small group of financial powerhouses that effectively rule Europe.
“In this day and age, countries with the highest credit ability are the most powerful and it is them which effectively predetermine the EU’s future,” said Manthos Mavromatis, chairman of the chamber of commerce and industry (KEVE). “We firmly believe that it is not impossible and it is within our potential, as long as we have the vision … and the political will to take all necessary measures to correct the wrongs of the economy.”
Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Cyprus by two notches to A2 last month, and rival Standard & Poor’s cut its rating to A.
Fitch, which rates Cyprus two notches higher at AA-, has placed the island on credit watch negative. Cypriot bank exposure to indebted Greece has also been cited as a concern by all three rating agencies.
Cyprus has been warned repeatedly to correct the structural flaws of the economy, –namely the unsustainable pensions system, which came to focus now due to the recession.
Although it has been officially acknowledged as being a problem, the government has not yet taken any substantive steps to correct it.
“If there is will from everyone to take the proper corrective actions to win back trust abroad and at home … then we believe that we can steadily raise our credit rating,” Mavromatis said.
As good examples of collective work, Mavromatis gave the island’s accession to the EU and the eurozone four years later, adding that an AAA rating should be the third goal for Cyprus.
The six most powerful countries in the EU are Germany, France, The Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg, not because they are the biggest, with the largest armies and nuclear weapons, but because they have the highest credit rating and health economies, Mavromatis said.
“The AAA target is within our capabilities and the fact that we are a small country has nothing to do with it since Luxembourg is a member of these six countries so we can also join,” the KEVE chairman added.
