The decision, signed by analysts Kiichi Sugiura and Sakura Yamamoto, and reported by ECO, is supported by the fact that Portugal has a “diversified economic base”, has registered “progress in structural reforms” and is witnessing a “consistent trajectory of fiscal consolidation”, factors that, according to the report, “increase resilience to external shocks”.

This is the first time since 2012 that the Japanese credit rating agency has changed Portugal's rating, and comes just days after DBRS raised the Republic's rating to “A” and around three months after IGCP's roadshow to the Asian continent to attract new investors, with a view to compensating for the gradual withdrawal of the European Central Bank (ECB) from the debt market.