Fitch gives SA benefit of the doubt
Reprieve for economy comes with warning that SOEs are ailing
South Africa won another reprieve on Friday as Fitch Ratings opted to keep the country's credit rating unchanged. But it warned of the challenges ahead. Fitch said in a statement that "South Africa's ratings are weighed down by low- trend growth, sizable government debt and contingent liabilities, and the highest inequality in the world, which raises policy risks", but it added that this was balanced by a "favourable government debt structure, deep local capital markets, a healthy banking sector and strong institutions". Fitch highlighted continuing tensions in the ANC as a possible risk, and was sceptical of recent government initiatives, saying they "are unlikely to improve trend growth significantly, as their implementation and timeline is uncertain and their impact on growth ambiguous". This includes the much-vaunted plan to attract $100-billion of new investments over the next five years, a national minimum wage and some measures to contain the risk of strikes. However, Fitch e...
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