S&P upgrades Ukraine's rating outlook on russian aid
2013-12-26 11:03:34
Standard & Poor's raised Ukraine's credit rating outlook on Thursday, saying that the country's external and fiscal funding pressures significantly eased after receiving financial aid from Russia.
The rating agency raised the rating outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' on the long-term sovereign credit ratings, while affirming the 'B-/B' long and short-term sovereign ratings on Ukraine.
"The stable outlook reflects our view that the $15 billion (about 8 percent of 2014 GDP) in direct financing, which Russia announced on Dec. 18, 2013, that it would provide to the Ukrainian government, should cover the government's external financing needs over the next 12 months," S&P said in a statement.
"With rollovers of trade financing and other private sector debt, we now expect Ukraine's foreign currency reserves to stabilize, further supported by an additional agreement to reduce by about 30 percent the price at which Naftogaz imports gas from Gazprom."