By Nigel Ash
Tripoli, 21 May 2013:
Libya is considering re-establishing its presence in capital markets as a borrower according to reports that . . .[restrict]it is seeking to renew its credit rating are correct.
Standard and Poor’s has been asked to provide a new assessment of the country’s creditworthiness, Bloomberg has said. Before it and other credit agencies withdrew their credit ratings altogether in the Spring of 2011, S&P had slashed its assessment of Libyan risk five levels from a- to bb.
Bloomberg quoted Libyan Central Bank Governor Saddek Elkaber as saying that as the holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves, Libya has the qualifications for a fresh rating. Speaking in Beirut, Elkabeer told the financial news agency: “We are preparing ourselves. We got in touch with them.” He went on to say that he expected a rating to be awarded in the coming months.
Libya’s total external debt is a little over $5 billion, of which $3 billion is owed by the state. These low external obligations mean that the country ranks 115 out of 189 borrowers worldwide.
Though the government itself may not need to go to the international markets, it is possible that it could start a local debt issuance programme, as a way to boost the lacklustre domestic capital markets and also to control liquidity. Equally, once the country has been awarded fresh ratings, it will be easier for government organisations to seek assessments of their own creditworthiness, in order to tap the markets for funding. [/restrict]
