Business

Moody’s scales down South Africa’s GDP growth projection as Covid-19 rages on

Published

4 years ago

March 9, 2020

Moody's explains why Nigeria's credit rating is exposed to shocks

Global ratings agency, Moody’s, has in its latest review of the 2020 economic outlook for South Africa slashed its growth forecast from 0.7% to 0.4%.

The agency in the new report saw South Africa’s crisis-held economy as one of several others that hold lower growth prospects in the nightmarish aftermath of the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Nigeria had last week toppled the rainbow nation as Africa’s largest economy, after the latter slumped into its second recession in successive years following the far-reaching effects of electricity blackouts on production and investor’s confidence with thousands losing their jobs.

In a move to salvage the Southern African economy from the corridor of uncertainty, President Cyril Ramaphosa during the weekend reportedly appointed Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a member of its newly constituted Economic Advisory Council.

“The global spread of the coronavirus is resulting in simultaneous supply and demand shocks.

“We expect these shocks to materially slow economic activity, particularly in the first half of this year. We have therefore revised our 2020 baseline growth forecasts for all G-20 economies,” Moody said.

South Africa last Thursday confirmed its first coronavirus case after one of its citizens returned from a visit to Italy.

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