Economics
S. Africa’s Escape From Junk Seen Short-Lived Without GDP Pickup
- S&P kept foreign-currency rating at one level above junk
- Economy to expand at slowest pace this year since 2009
QuickTake: South Africa's Scandal and Strife
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South Africa’s chances of repeating its escape from a junk credit rating in 2017 are in the balance as focus intensifies on tepid economic growth and simmering political tensions.
S&P Global Ratings kept its assessment of the nation’s foreign-currency debt at one level above non-investment grade on Dec. 2. S&P’s affirmation followed a similar move by Fitch Ratings Ltd., while Moody’s Investors Service rates the debt one level higher. The reprieve may be short-lived if the government doesn’t act to accelerate economic growth, according to Piotr Matys, an emerging-market currency strategist at Rabobank in London.