site.btaStandard & Poor's: Rating on Sofia Affirmed at 'BB+'; Outlook Stable

Standard & Poor's: Rating on Sofia Affirmed at 'BB+'; Outlook Stable

Sofia, September 5 (BTA) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its 'BB+'
long-term issuer credit rating on Sofia on Friday, with a stable outlook, said the Bulgarian capital's Deputy Mayor Doncho Barbalov, who is responsible for finances and economic activity.

This is a very good indicator of the rating agency's assessment of the work done in the municipality, said Barbalov. He quoted the agency's overview, which noted that Sofia has preserved very strong debt coverage, which supports the city's exceptional liquidity position. Standard & Poor's also noted the city's strong budgetary flexibility, based on its significant autonomy in managing local revenues. Sofia's debt service will remain at an estimated low of 7-8 per cent of adjusted operating revenues in 2015-2017. The internal cash-generating capability is expected to remain strong over the next two-to-three years, with relatively high operating surpluses covering annual debt service more than two times, the agency said.

In recent years the municipality has been implementing a strategy to increase its revenues, said Barbalov. They stood at 369 million leva as at end-August, 20.2 million leva more than a year earlier. Increased tax compliance is due to the new information system with a single database. Taxpayers can check and pay their obligations online, or use a mobile application to check them.