Business news

MINSK, 23 July (BelTA) – The RAEX rating agency (Rating-Agentur Expert RA GmbH) has affirmed Belarus’ sovereign government credit rating at ‘B’ (national currency), BelTA learned from the agency.

The outlook is positive, which means that the rating score is highly likely to be upgraded in the mid-term perspective.

The agency confirmed the ratings for Belarus based on solid economic growth, further improvement of the fiscal policy and sustainable debt levels. Moreover, the debt structure in terms of type of creditors and maturity remains favorable; however, the foreign currency share of the government obligations is substantially high, the agency said.

The positive outlook is based on the agency’s expectations of a sustainable recovery of the national economy, as well as the expected mitigation of debt repayment risks by issuing long-term government bonds and restructuring the liabilities to the Russian government and related funds.

Belarus amassed considerable financial resources in 2017 and early 2018 by floating eurobonds, getting a loan from Russia and financing from the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development. The agency believes that these resources should be sufficient to settle debts in 2018.

The economic recovery of key trade partners and the domestic demand contributed to the recovery of the country’s GDP in 2017 which grew by 2.4% after two years of recession. The agency expects growth to remain at around 2%.