The rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P), confirmed, Friday, March 31, Morocco’s BB+/B rating with a stable outlook.
Standard & Poor’s thus maintained its rating of Morocco’s sovereign debt which reflects, it estimated in a press release, the effectiveness of “economic and fiscal reforms underway in Morocco, paving the way for more inclusive growth, an increase in domestic and foreign private investment and a gradual reduction in the budget deficit”.
According to the agency, the maintenance of a stable outlook indicates that the risks weighing on the country’s issuer profile are currently measured, and that “the stable outlook reflects our expectation that the ongoing structural reforms should support a robust economic growth and help offset external and fiscal pressures”.
And S&P noted that Morocco’s net public debt is expected to increase and stabilize at 65% of GDP by 2026, an increase of 13.5% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, the agency said it expects “that GDP per capita will increase (nearly $5,000 in 2026), but will remain below that of other emerging economies”.
“Morocco’s low per capita income highlights persistent structural weaknesses, including a large informal economy, large income disparities between regions and high unemployment,” she said.
“The Moroccan economy has withstood several regional and global shocks over the past two decades while maintaining access to external and internal financing”, highlights S&P, which affirms that the increase in GDP to 3.5% in 2023 will be supported “by a rebound in production and the strong performance of the country’s main export-oriented sectors, including tourism, phosphate, and the automotive and aerospace industry”.
Finally, it should be noted that this confirmation comes in one of the harshest international economic conditions and at a time when other economies, such as Turkey, have been downgraded, seeing their debt outlook reduced from stable to negative.