Lisbon — Portugal hopes to cut its total debt to 120% of GDP by 2019 from 130% in 2016, finance minister Mario Centeno said — a change that could help boost the country’s creditworthiness. Portugal’s total debt is the third-highest in the eurozone, after Greece and Italy, and is seen as one of the economy’s biggest weaknesses. The country took a three-year bailout from its eurozone peers in 2011, during the bloc’s debt crisis. In its 2018 draft budget presented last Friday, the Socialist government promised to continue cutting the debt, to 123.5% of GDP from 126.2% in 2017. Centeno said the administration would go further in its remaining term. "If we manage to cut gross debt below 120% of GDP at the end of the legislature [in 2019] it would be an excellent indicator," said Centeno. "I think that sustained trajectory is what Portugal should aim for and implement." Such a reduction could help rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s follow S&P Global Ratings’ decision in September to upgrad...
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