Ratings agency Fitch has affirmed its junk rating on SA, ahead of an expected downgrade by Moody’s, which is likely to leave SA’s ratings at just one notch above subinvestment grade, junk status. Moody’s could announce its decision as early as Friday, after it put SA on review for a downgrade in April following the Cabinet reshuffle. Rival S&P, which junked SA’s foreign currency rating in April, is scheduled to provide an update after markets close on Thursday, but is not expected to make further changes this time around. Fitch, which downgraded SA’s foreign and local currency ratings to a subinvestment grade BB+ in April, on Thursday kept the outlook stable but warned that the Cabinet reshuffle was likely to undermine the governance of state-owned enterprises, weaken fiscal consolidation and reduce private sector investment because of weaker business confidence. However, it appeared convinced by new Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s assurances that the government was committed to ex...
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