Ghana faces large fiscal and external financing needs, based on its general government fiscal deficit, which ballooned to 11.8% of GDP in 2012 against an initially budgeted 4.8% of GDP, and which will likely fall only slightly to 10.4% of GDP in 2013 and consolidate slowly thereafter. Nevertheless, political stability, strong growth prospects, and foreign investment support Ghana's credit profile. We are revising our outlook on Ghana to negative from stable and affirming our 'B/B' long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings. The negative outlook indicates at least a one-in-three possibility that we could lower the ratings on Ghana within the next 12-18 months, due to its weakening fiscal and external profile. On Dec. 6, 2013, Standard
