Credit outlook |

South Africa’s credit downgrades rule out repo rate cuts

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s debt downgrade to junk status and the finance minister’s recent dismissal mean interest rates will be on hold until 2020 at least, a Reuters poll found on Wednesday. Economists in the poll, taken just a week after Fitch Ratings Agency and Standard & Poor’s downgraded South Africa to “junk”, pushed out rate cuts, ruled them out altogether or considered the possibility of hikes. But the medians from the…

Junk for South Africa as Fitch Joins S&P in Cut on Politics

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African debt got dealt a second blow in a week as Fitch Ratings Ltd. joined S&P Global Ratings and cut the nation’s credit assessment to junk following President Jacob Zuma’s move to fire a well-respected finance minister. Fitch reduced the foreign-currency rating to BB+, the highest non-investment grade and on par with Turkey and Portugal, four days after S&P reduced its assessment. The local-currency rating was also lowered one level to…

South African Banks Fall on S&P Downgrade, Rand Weakness but Resilience

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s banking sector fell by nearly three percent on Thursday after S&P cut the credit ratings of several major financial institutions following a sovereign downgrade. S&P cut South Africa’s credit level to junk status on Monday, citing growing concerns of political and policy instability following President Jacob Zuma’s midnight cabinet reshuffle a week ago. A weak rand following the downgrade compounded the impact on banking shares on Thursday,…

Nigeria’s woes won’t deter investors from buying dollar bonds

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investors are lining up to buy dollar bonds Nigeria is expected to issue soon despite the country’s first recession in a quarter of a century, a currency crisis and budget shortfalls driven by low oil prices. On the face of it, the $1 billion of bonds Nigeria hopes to sell by the end of March might seem unattractive, especially at a time sentiment towards African debt has soured after…

Fitch Revises Nigeria’s Outlook to Negative; Affirms at ‘B+’

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to Negative from Stable and affirmed the IDRs at ‘B+’. The issue ratings on Nigeria’s senior unsecured foreign currency bonds have also been affirmed at ‘B+’. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at ‘B+’ and the Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency IDRs have been affirmed at ‘B’. Key Rating Drivers The revision…

S&P says South Africa needs to deliver growth, fiscal improvements

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s sovereign credit rating could come under pressure if the country’s economic growth and fiscal performance do not improve, the head of the sub-Saharan region of S&P Global Ratings said on Wednesday. “We have certain expectations with regard to GDP growth and certain expectations with regard to fiscal improvements. If there is no delivery in this regard, that could certainly put pressure on the rating,” Konrad Reuss told…

Negative outlook for Sub-Saharan African sovereigns Amid Uncertainty

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The creditworthiness of sovereigns in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has an overall negative outlook for 2017, reflecting the liquidity stress facing commodity-dependent countries, subdued economic growth, and persistent political risk, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report today. The report, “Sovereigns — Sub-Saharan Africa: Negative Outlook Amid Liquidity Stress, Low Growth, Political Risk”, is available on www.moodys.com. Moody’s subscribers can access the report using the link at the end of…

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