Economic Reforms: S&P upgrades Nigeria’s credit outlook to stable

Nigeria’s credit outlook has been upgraded from negative to stable by Standard & Poor (S&P) Global Ratings, following President Bola Tinubu’s effort to reforms the economy on his assumption of office.

However, the debt assessor still scores the nation at B-, six notches into junk and on par with Bolivia and Barbados, according to a statement on Friday.

The improved outlook comes after Nigeria’s new leader scrapped costly fuel subsidies, removed the central bank governor and overhauled the nation’s exchange-rate policies.

“The new government is moving ahead with a series of reforms that could, if delivered, benefit growth and fiscal outcomes,” analysts Ravi Bhatia, Samira Mensah and Juili Pargaonkar wrote. “We believe these measures will gradually benefit Nigeria’s public finances and its balance of payments.”

Still, both the nation’s planned fiscal spending and inflation remain high, S&P said.

It added that the West African region may also face geopolitical risks tied to the recent coup in neighboring Niger.