Financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s has maintained Angola’s rating at B- with a stable outlook, stressing that despite debt reduction this year, the country is highly dependent on the exchange rate and oil.
“Angola’s ability to repay its commercial debt obligations is constrained by high fiscal and external vulnerabilities,” it said in a note accompanying the decision to maintain the rating at B-, noting that while debt servicing is lower, “government credibility will remain vulnerable to adverse exchange rate movements and oil sector dynamics this year until there is significant diversification” of the economy.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) acknowledges that a recent revision to gross domestic product (GDP) shows the economy is 13% stronger than before, but stresses that “economic growth, mostly on a per capita basis, remains subdued due to successive shocks and higher inflation.”
Updating its macroeconomic scenario for sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer, S&P now forecasts growth of 3% this year, up from 0.9% last year and above the 2% forecast for 2025 and 1.6% forecast for the next two years.
In turn, the government debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to improve from 70.6% in 2023 to 61.3% this year, continuing to decline to 57% in 2027.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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