Economy | - Part 72

South Africa Junk Rating a Matter of Time as Economy Falters

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — It appears to be just a matter of time before South Africa’s credit rating is cut to junk. S&P Global Ratings will lower the nation’s rating to non-investment grade by the end of this year, according to 12 of 13 economists and analysts surveyedby Bloomberg. Four see the downgrade to BB+, which will put South Africa on par with Turkey and Indonesia, coming as early as next month. All 13 analysts…

Gabon | Moody’s places Gabon’s Ba3 ratings on review for downgrade

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Libreville, Gabon, Capital Markets in Africa — Moody’s Investors Service has today placed the Republic of Gabon’s Ba3 government bond and issuer ratings on review for downgrade. The purpose of Moody’s ratings review is to assess the extent of the impact of the further sharp fall in oil prices, which Moody’s expects to remain low for several years, on the Republic of Gabon’s government balance sheet in the coming years. As part of the review,…

Congo | Moody’s downgrades Republic of the Congo’s rating to B1

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Brazzaville, Congo, Capital Markets in Africa — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded the Republic of the Congo’s (ROC) issuer rating to B1 from Ba3 and placed the B1 rating under review for further downgrade. The downgrade reflects the severe deterioration in the government balance sheet caused by the significant fall in oil prices, which Moody’s expects to remain low for several years. The purpose of the review for further downgrade is to allow Moody’s…

Nigeria edging closer to China — Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Buhari’s recent trip to China generated impressive headlines on funding. If the whole $6bn infrastructure loan is disbursed, it could give a significant boost to Nigeria’s productivity. However, in the short term, the focus is on some important details of the currency swap arrangement and to what extent it can alleviate the pressure on Nigeria’s FX reserves. CBN lauds currency swap with China, but important details are missing The…

IMF Says Sub-Saharan Africa Nations Must Contain Budget Gaps

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Sub-Saharan African nations need to contain their fiscal deficits to avoid becoming more vulnerable to external events, the International Monetary Fund said. “If deficits are not curbed, these countries will be left without buffers and, worse still, remain vulnerable to a financing crisis should external financing conditions get even more difficult,” the Washington-based lender said in its Regional Economic Outlook on Tuesday. African countries from Ghana to Mozambique have approached the…

Nigeria | More details emerge on Nigeria’s fiscal plans — BoAML

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nigeria’s Senators have urged Buhari to sign the budget into law after he requested it be sent to him to check for any unapproved adjustments. The local press has reported that this should happen within weeks but the whole budgeting process has been fraught with delays since it was first started in December 2015. The current delays relate to the allocation of the US$30bn headline expenditure, but the…

Nigeria | Moody’s downgrades Nigeria’s sovereign issuer rating with a stable outlook

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Nigeria’s long-term issuer ratings to B1 from Ba3 and has assigned a stable outlook, concluding the review for downgrade initiated on March 4th 2016. The key drivers of today’s rating action are as follows: 1) Increased external vulnerability brought about by the prospect of lower-for-longer oil prices; 2) Execution risk in the transition to a less oil-dependent federal budget, and the implications…

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