Standard and Poor’s revised South Africa’s outlook rating from stable to positive on Tuesday, the Treasury said in a statement.
This rating hike, the third in a year, was evidence that South Africa’s ”persistent, sound macroeconomic management and policies” and readily-manageable and declining debt burden were having a good effect.
Standard and Poor’s also affirmed South Africa’s BBB- long term foreign currency debt rating and its A- long term local currency debt rating.
Standard and Poor’s expect sound fiscal and monetary policies coupled with growth enhancing fiscal reforms to bolster the ratings on South Africa over the coming years, the Treasury statement noted.
In November last year Moody’s upgraded South Africa’s long term foreign currency debt from Baa3 to Baa2 and hiked government’s domestic debt by two notches from Baa1 to A2. In August, Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on South Africa’s foreign currency debt from stable to positive.
These ratings would probably result in a further decline in debt service costs, which would allow the Treasury to make even more resources available for social and infrastructure spending.
The ratings hikes also confirm the gradually growing impression that South Africa was a safe haven in a world ravaged by slow economic growth and rampant rating downgrades.
”We continue to believe that with a strong macroeconomic policy foundation, growth enhancing structural reforms and (the) resultant resilience of the South African economy, it is possible to grow this economy to levels that will make it possible to meaningfully reduce poverty and unemployment,” the Treasury statement concluded. – Sapa