Tunisia’s sovereign rating has just been downgraded in the long term, in foreign and local currency, from Caa1 to Caa2 with a negative outlook, local media reported on Saturday, citing the global rating agency. Moody’s.
The international rating agency has indicated, in this sense, that the rating of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) had also been lowered.
This downgrading of Tunisia’s sovereign rating comes down, according to Moody’s, to the uncertainty at the level of the capacity of the Tunisian authorities to put in place measures capable of meeting the high financing needs.
“In the event of the absence of significant financing, Tunisia might run the risk of defaulting on its debt”, commented the agency, which reports certain delays in the implementation of reforms. and financing, thus risking depletion of foreign exchange reserves due to withdrawals for the payment of debt service”.
Referring to the ongoing negotiations with the IMF, Moody’s believes that “prolonged delays in putting in place a new financing program will have negative repercussions on foreign exchange reserves, thus generating risks on the balance of payments and the restructuring debt”.