By Reshmi Basu
New York, May 26 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Service, in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said it has launched the first comprehensive "Sovereigns Ratings in Africa" report.
The report debuted at a seminar held for attendees of the African Development Bank's annual meeting in Kampala, Uganda. Participants included African finance officials, central bank governors and their delegations.
The report's unveiling coincided with S&P's assignment of sovereign credit ratings to the Republic of Madagascar (B/stable/B.) Madagascar becomes the 102nd sovereign and the ninth sub-Saharan African nation to be rated by S&P.
Similar to the ratings on Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, and Mali, Madagascar 's ratings were assigned under a 2002 UNDP and S&P initiative to help sub-Saharan African and other developing countries to obtain sovereign credit ratings.
The intention of this project is to support countries in their efforts to mobilize domestic financial resources by developing local capital markets, and attract foreign direct investment and other private sector capital flows.
"Although many of the governments rated under the new initiative will not use their rated status for immediate access to international bond markets, these ratings will help to integrate African countries into international capital markets over the coming years," S&P said in the news release.
The number of sovereign ratings on the African continent is expected to increase under the initiative.
S&P has rated 12 countries on the African continent. A nation's low per capita income levels, narrow economies, and high vulnerability to external shocks categorize the B rating.
African sovereign credit ratings:
| Republic of Benin: | B+/stable/B
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| Republic of Botswana: | A/stable/A-1
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| Burkina Faso: | B/stable/B
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| Republic of Cameroon: | B/stable/B
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| Arab Republic of Egypt: | BB+/negative/B
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| Republic of Ghana: | B+/stable/B
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| Republic of Madagascar | B/stable/B
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| Republic of Mali: | B/stable/B
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| Kingdom of Morocco: | BB/positive/B
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| Republic of Senegal: | B+/stable/B
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| Republic of South Africa: | BBB/stable/A-3
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| Republic of Tunisia: | BBB/stable/A-3
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