Ratings agency Fitch expresses concern over Poland's mounting public debt

Ratings agency Fitch is likely to hold Poland's triple-B plus rating stable after its February review, because of concern over the country's rising national debt, sovereign analyst James McCormack said yesterday. After declining gradually over recent years, Poland's public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio began to edge up in 2001 as the State deficit surged to record levels. "From a rating perspective Poland's rising public debt is the most problematic," McCormack told a news conference in Warsaw. Earlier this week Finance Minister Marek Belka said the mounting national debt was his biggest macroeconomic concern. Belka forecast national debt would reach 44% of GDP this year and probably rise to 55% to 56% by 2006, if his four-year economic strategy plan, unveiled on Tuesday, is carried out. McCormack commented, "There is no magic number, but if we move from mid-40% to mid-50%, that would give us cause for concern." (Reuters)