African countries believe they are losing billions because Wall Street treats them unfairly. Now they are setting up their own rating agency
Hardly any analysts on site, no understanding of informal markets: The big credit rating agencies allegedly don't understand Africa. That's why there is now an African institute. It will have to convince the financial markets that it is independent.
The African Union has launched a new credit rating agency in Port Louis, Mauritius, in an effort to reduce dependence on global financial systems that African countries perceive as unfair. The agency, backed by the African Union, aims to provide ratings that better reflect the local context of African economies, which often have large informal sectors that are not well understood by global rating agencies.
African countries have long complained that major rating agencies, such as Moody's, S&P Global, and Fitch Ratings, do not have sufficient local analysts and provide systematically lower ratings, making it harder for them to access credit and leading to higher interest rates. The new agency plans to start producing ratings in 2027 and will be led by interim CEO Sifiso Falala, who founded a South African rating agency in 2022.
Written by urgent.news from NZZ Wirtschaft's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
