LONDON (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 4, 2003--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today it assigned its 'B+/B' sovereign credit ratings to the Republic of Ghana. The outlook is stable. "The ratings reflect Ghana's heavy general government debt burden, low economic development, and weak fiscal flexibility," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Mame-Fatou Diagne. "These factors are balanced by the government's commitment to macroeconomic stabilization and reform, substantial debt-relief prospects under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, significant socio-political stability, and Ghana's improving external liquidity." The ratings on Ghana are the first under a new initiative launched by the United Nations Development Programme with Standard&Poor's to help Sub-Saharan African and other developing countries to obtain sovereign credit ratings.
