Global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has downgraded Ghana’s rating by one notch to B-. The downgrade was due to concerns that access to financing will continue to be a struggle even if the country embarks on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
The rating agency highlighted that despite a successful international bond issue in August, the country has gross external financing needs of 137% of current account receipts and reserves next year. The new rating is six levels below investment grade on Thursday.
The government is currently talking to the IMF about an economic reform and bailout package, and the rating agency said it had a stable outlook on Ghana’s rating on the assumption that it would strike a deal that could tide it over until new oil and gas production comes on line.
Nonetheless, S&P’s analysts sounded a cautious note on whether an IMF programme would prove successful.
Credit: S&P
