The financial rating agency Fitch Ratings reported that it changed BAI's assessment from "Stable" to "Positive", while setting the assessment of long-term debt at 'B-'", reads the statement released this Wednesday in Luanda, which comes after, on the 15th of July, Fitch has improved the outlook for the evolution of Angola's 'rating'.
"Fitch recognizes the systemic importance of BAI, its position as the main private bank in Angola and its strategic role in financing and supporting the strategic oil industry", says BAI, also noting that "for Fitch, this change reflects Angola's large fiscal surpluses, the result of a combination of higher oil prices, cost containment and a sharp decline in public debt, driven by the appreciation of the kwanza and a history of stability-oriented economic reforms".
On 15 July, Fitch Ratings, owned by the same owners of the consultancy Fitch Solutions, announced that it had revised the outlook for the evolution of Angola's rating from Stable to Positive, allowing for an increase in opinion on the quality of this sovereign credit lusophone country.
"Higher oil prices and our expectation of a continued budgetary restriction will sustain an improvement in the perspective of budgetary evolution", reads the note that then accompanied the explanation of the change in the perspective of the evolution of the 'rating', which is maintained at B-, below the investment recommendation level.
After five years of economic recession, Angola is expected to grow 2.8 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2023, "driven mainly by the non-oil sector, reflecting the easing of restrictions related to the pandemic and the increase in liquidity of dollars, in addition to a significant improvement in economic sentiment", conclude the analysts.
Placing a rating on a Positive Evolution Perspective means that, if current conditions are maintained or improved, the rating will be revised upwards, normally within a period of between six and 18 months, but which may be anticipated.
Fitch Ratings assigns Angola an opinion on sovereign credit quality at B-, below investment recommendation, ie 'junk' as it is generally known, meaning that investing in this country is risky.
"The B rating indicates that there is a material risk of financial default ('default'), but there is a limited safety margin; financial commitments are being met, but the ability to maintain payments is vulnerable to deteriorating conditions economic and business", as defined by Fitch Ratings for level B.
