Moody's raises outlook for South Africa's sovereign credit rating to 'positive'

Johannesburg, May 23 (Xinhua) -- International rating agency Moody's announced on the 22nd that it has raised its outlook for South Africa's sovereign credit rating from "stable" to "positive", and confirmed that South Africa's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings for local and foreign currencies are Ba2.

Moody's stated in its rating report that the upward revision of South Africa's rating outlook reflects the gradual improvement of the country's fiscal performance and the continued push for structural reforms, and the related effects are expected to be further demonstrated. However, the report also points out that maintaining South Africa's Ba2 rating reflects that the country's fiscal and economic fundamentals are still relatively weak, and the improvements brought about by reforms are still in the early stages.

Moody's also stated that the Middle East conflict poses a risk to South Africa's recent economic growth, and South Africa's policy response is expected to remain cautious, ensuring macroeconomic stability. The report also points out that if South Africa's fiscal performance continues to improve, debt service costs decrease, and there is a credible and substantial reduction in the government's debt burden, the relevant ratings may be upgraded.

The South African Ministry of Finance announced on the 22nd that this is the first time since 2007 that Moody's has raised its outlook for South Africa's rating to "positive". After the outlook was raised in 2007, Moody's further upgraded South Africa's sovereign rating in 2009.