A final rating of ‘B+’ has been assigned to Nigeria’s $1.5 billion notes by renowned rating agency, Fitch Ratings.
A statement issued by the firm on Monday disclosed that the new rating replaces the expected rating of ‘B+(EXP)’ it assigned to notes of the Africa’s largest economy on November 15, 2017.
The $1.5 billion 6.500 percent senior unsecured notes are due on November 28, 2027, while the $1.5 billion 7.625 percent senior unsecured notes are due on November 28, 2047.
According to Fitch, the expected rating is in line with Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of ‘B+’ with a Negative Outlook.
“The rating is sensitive to any changes in Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR,” the statement issued in Hong Kong said.
On August 31, 2017, Fitch affirmed Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at ‘B+’ with a Negative Outlook. The Long-Term Local-Currency IDR is also ‘B+’ with a Negative Outlook.
Adedapo Adesanya