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Moody’s revises Republic of Congo outlook to ‘positive’ on easing default risks - REUTERS
May 27 (Reuters) – Moody’s revised its outlook on the Republic of Congo to “positive” from “stable” on Wednesday, saying the country’s renewed access to international capital markets and a prospective IMF programme had eased near-term default risks.
“The positive outlook reflects RoC’s potential reversal in its credit trend after defaults recorded in the regional market in 2024 and early 2025,” the global ratings agency said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Congo finance ministry said it has requested talks with the IMF on a new financing programme and a technical mission is expected to arrive in the central African country.
IMF had said in an assessment in April that Congo’s economic performance and outlook remained fragile.
Moody’s said higher oil prices and planned increases in oil and gas production provide an upside to the African nation’s growth and fiscal revenue, prospectively strengthening debt servicing capacity.
It, however, held the sovereign’s rating in junk territory at “Caa2”, citing its heavy debt burden, persistent external arrears to official creditors and domestic arrears to service and goods providers, alongside a long standing record of weak fiscal governance.
