Libya wins first ever sovereign credit rating
Friday, 20 March 2009
TRIPOLI, March 19 (AFP): International rating agency Standard and Poor's yesterday gave Libya its first ever sovereign credit rating, in what the central bank hailed as a sign of confidence in its economic reforms.
S and P said it rated the oil-rich north African state's long-term debt at A- and short-term at A-2 with a stable outlook.
The agency highlighted what it said was "one of the strongest balance sheets" among A rated sovereign states and a solid outlook for the energy sector but also the limited transparency in official decision-making and uncertainties over private sector reforms.
Libyan central bank governor Hafedh Gidara said the rating was a "sign of confidence" in the country's economic reform and modernisation programme launched after more than a decade of UN sanctions were lifted in 2003.
It was the latest sign of Libya's return to the international fold since its veteran leader Moamer Kadhafi announced in December 2003 he was abandoning a weapons of mass destruction programme and later agreed compensation deals for attacks blamed on Libya.
S and P said it rated the oil-rich north African state's long-term debt at A- and short-term at A-2 with a stable outlook.
The agency highlighted what it said was "one of the strongest balance sheets" among A rated sovereign states and a solid outlook for the energy sector but also the limited transparency in official decision-making and uncertainties over private sector reforms.
Libyan central bank governor Hafedh Gidara said the rating was a "sign of confidence" in the country's economic reform and modernisation programme launched after more than a decade of UN sanctions were lifted in 2003.
It was the latest sign of Libya's return to the international fold since its veteran leader Moamer Kadhafi announced in December 2003 he was abandoning a weapons of mass destruction programme and later agreed compensation deals for attacks blamed on Libya.