South Africa Dodges Third Junk Rating; Moody's Lifts Outlook
- Outlook revised to stable on more transparent policies
- Moody’s put South Africa on review for a downgrade in November
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South Africa escaped a third junk rating as Moody’s Investors Service maintained its assessment of the nation’s debt unchanged, citing more transparent and predictable policies under President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The African nation’s outlook was revised to stable from negative. The decision will boost sentiment and probably bolster the rand, which rallied after Ramaphosa took over as leader of the ruling African National Congress in December and became president last month. With the local-currency rating remaining investment grade, the nation avoids being excluded from global benchmark indexes that could have led to outflows of as much as much as 100 billion rand ($8.4 billion).