Yerevan, July 26 /Mediamax/. Armenia may be assigned the 5th category in Moody’s rating already next year, Armenian Minister of Trade and Economic Development Karen Chshmaritian thinks.

Addressing a news conference in Yerevan today, Karen Chshmaritian said that “this will be the highest rating in the region and Armenia has all chances to receive it.”

Comparing the ratings assigned to Armenia by Fitch and Moody’s, Karen Chshmaritian noted that the Fitch studied only the republic’s banking sector, whereas the Moody’s also studied the activity of 5 leading Armenian companies.

In early June 2006, Fitch rating agency assigned Armenia a sovereign credit rating BB- with a Stable Outlook, and the Moody’s rating assigned to Armenia on July 24 was Ba2 (6th category).