Economy | - Part 70

South Africa’s Credit-Rating Outlook Kept at Stable by Fitch

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Fitch Ratings Ltd. has maintained its outlook on South Africa’s credit rating at stable, giving the country more time to avoid having its debt assessment cut to junk, even as the economy contracted in the first quarter. South Africa’s foreign-currency rating was kept at BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level, Fitch said in a statement Wednesday. The assessment is better than that of S&P Global Ratings, which affirmed its BBB- level with a negative outlook on…

South Africa Needs Improvement in Next Six Months, S&P Says

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s government needs to implement the reforms it promised to boost growth between now and December, S&P Global Ratings sovereign analyst Gardner Rusike said. “We are looking at improvements between now and the next six months,” Johannesburg-based Rusike said on a conference call with reporters on Monday. If the “government moves on to clarify some of the policy areas, it helps on confidence and it helps on investment, which…

S&P Keeps South African Credit Rating One Level Above Junk

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s credit rating was kept unchanged by S&P Global Ratings, giving the nation a reprieve from a junk assessment, even as it warned it could lower the rating if the economy doesn’t recover. The foreign-currency rating was kept at BBB-, one level above junk, and the local-currency rating was affirmed at BBB+, S&P said in a statement on Friday. The outlook on the rating was kept negative….

Nigeria Records First Trade Deficit in at Least Seven Years

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigeria recorded its first quarterly trade deficit in at least seven years in the three months through March as exports of crude oil dropped, adding to the nation’s economic distress. The trade balance of Africa’s largest economy swung to a deficit of 184.1 billion naira ($925 million) from a revised surplus of 364.6 billion naira in the previous quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday….

Fitch Cuts Mozambique Rating to CC Over Hidden Public Debt

Posted on by The Editorial Team

MAPUTO, Mozambique, Capital Markets in Africa: Fitch Ratings cut Mozambique’s credit to CC, indicating that a default of some kind is probable, after the southern African nation last month disclosed more than $1 billion of previously hidden debt. The grade was cut by one notch from CCC, according to a statement e-mailed by the company Monday. The review was brought forward by five months because of a “material change in the creditworthiness of the issuer,” it said. “The…

Moody’s Sees More African Countries Seeking IMF, World Bank Help

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: More countries in sub-Saharan Africa are likely to turn to international lenders for emergency financing, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Ghana, Angola and Mozambique have turned to the International Monetary Fund for help in the past year and Zambia may soon follow suit. Kenya took on a $1.5 billion standby facility and Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, is negotiating a loan from the World Bank. Zimbabwe is also engaging with the Washington-based lenders to obtain…

Rwanda in Talks With IMF for Standby Facility as Imports Surge

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Kigali, Rwanda, Capital Markets in Africa: Rwanda is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to arrange a standby facility of about $200 million to help offset the impact of declining export revenue and surging imports, Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa said. The collapse in global commodity prices is expected to result in “negative growth” in revenue for Rwanda’s mineral shipments this year, Rwangombwa said in an interview Friday at the World Economic Forum on Africa in the…

« 1 … 68 69 70 71 72 … 88 »