Moody's, the credit rating agency, downgraded Tunisia's long-term issue of foreign and domestic currency from B2 to B3, and maintained its negative outlook.
Moody's, had affirmed Tunisia's rating at B2 with a negative outlook in October 2020, after it placed Tunisia's B2 rating "under review towards reduction" in April 2020.
According to the agency, this rating reflects weak governance in the face of mounting social restrictions that are increasingly preventing the government's flexibility in implementing fiscal adjustment and public sector reforms that would bring stability and ultimately reflect the marked increase in its debt burden.
Moody's noted that this classification was supported by the relative stability of the external situation during the epidemic shock, which provides some support for future external debt service payments, despite the persistence of refinancing risks. Indicating that the negative outlook is the result of downside risks related to further delay in negotiating and implementing the program funded by the International Monetary Fund.
The Tunisian Institute of Statistics announced that the economy had recorded a record contraction in the gross domestic product for the year 2020, amounting to 8.8 percent, with a clear increase in unemployment rates, reinforced by closures related to measures to combat the Corona epidemic.
Source (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed Newspaper, Edited)
