Fitch downgrades Kenya

Fitch Ratings said it downgraded Kenya's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to B from B+.

“The downgrade reflects Kenya's persistent twin fiscal and external deficits, relatively high debt, and deteriorating external liquidity, and high external financing costs, which presently constrain access to international capital markets,” Fitch said in a press release.

Fitch said it estimates Kenya’s current account deficit to grow to 5.9% of GDP ($6.9 billion) in 2022 and to stay at broadly the same levels in 2023 and 2024. As of November, the country’s international reserves had declined to $7.2 billion from $9.5 billion on Dec. 31.

Kenya’s upcoming obligations include a $2 billion Eurobond due in June 2024, which with high current account deficits will pressure international reserves, the agency said.

The outlook is stable.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.