Renowned global rating firm, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), has commenced a detailed review of Nigeria’s reform programme and its economic performance, preparatory to the rating of the country, the local BusinessDay Newspaper reported Wednesday. According to the newspaper, this is the second time S&P will be rating the country. In February 2006, it gave a ‘B’ rating for the economy and a ‘BB’ rating for its currency, indicating a strong economy and currency.
Economic analysts said a country without a rating is regarded as unknown quantity and investors tend to avoid it or lend to it at very high interest rates. Leader of the S&P team on the evaluation, Moritz Kramer, held a closed door meeting with the Minister of State for Finance, Remi Babalola. Also at the meeting were Korad Reuss, Managing Director, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa and Associate Director of S&P. The meeting looked at what President Musa Ya’Adua’s Administration has done in the past nine months as well as its efforts at achieving its seven-point agenda. The S&P rating services published more than 510,000 ratings, including revised ones, in 2007. Its Global 1200 covers 31 markets and approximately 70% of global market capitalisation.
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