Standard&Poor’s affirms Belarus “B/B” Ratings (outlook stable)

On April 3, 2020 Standard&Poor’s affirmed its “B/B” long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Belarus with stable outlook.

Analysts noted the improvement of macroeconomic indicators in recent years, tight fiscal policy, flexibility of monetary policy, as well as the availability of sufficient level of foreign exchange reserves, which will allow the Government to meet its debt obligations in full over the next 12 months.

The Agency estimates that economic growth in Belarus will decrease by 2% in real terms in 2020. This is due to limited access to commercial bond markets, deteriorating foreign trade conditions, and weak domestic consumption indicators due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.