Tunisia- Moody’s changes Tunisia’s outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’

Moody’s Investor Service changed its outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ on the Tunisian government’s issuer rating, citing stability in the balance of payments and the debt burden.

The ratings agency also changed the outlook on the Central Bank of Tunisia’s ratings to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’, and affirmed the ‘B2’ senior unsecured rating, Moody’s said in a report on Friday.

The stable sovereign issuer rating outlook “reflects the stabilization in the balance of payments and

the debt burden that Moody’s expects to be maintained as tighter monetary policy stabilizes the currency and fiscal policy prudence is likely to remain, despite significant constraints to rapid consolidation,” the agency said.

The Central Bank’s tighter monetary policy has stabilised the exchange rate and helped rein in the high ratio of debt to gross domestic product that peaked over 77 per cent of GDP in 2018.