S&P slashes S Africa rating into ‘junk’

WASHINGTON: S&P Global Ratings lowered South Africa’s credit rating further into “junk” territory on Friday, citing the country’s deteriorating public finances and weak economic growth outlook. S&P dropped South Africa long-term foreign currency sovereign rating to “BB” after having placed it higher in the speculative category at “BB+” in April. “Weak GDP growth has led to further deterioration of South Africa’s public finances beyond our previous expectations,” S&P said. “In our view, economic decisions in recent years have largely focused on the distribution - rather than the growth - of national income,” S&P added. “As a consequence, South Africa’s economy has stagnated and external competitiveness has eroded.” S&P said its outlook on South Africa is “stable,” meaning credit metrics are not expected to change significantly over the next year.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2017.

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