Fitch Keeps South Africa’s Sovereign Rating Unchanged

JOHANNESBURG – Ratings firm Fitch on Thursday kept South Africa sub-investment grade credit rating steady at subinvestment and maintained its stable outlook, but warned that low growth and rising debt of state-owned firms posed a risk.

“South Africa’s ratings are weighed down by low growth potential, sizeable government debt and contingent liabilities,” Fitch said in a statement. It rates both Pretoria’s foreign and local currency debt at ‘BB+’, one notch below investment grade.

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia)