Morocco’s Credit Outlook Downgraded to Negative by S&P Amid Pandemic Debt Concerns

According to Standard & Poor’s, Morocco’s outlook has been revised to "negative" due to the increase in debt and external needs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the origin of this change, the budget situation and the external debt situation. However, the rating agency warns that they will deteriorate significantly more than expected "due to the severe economic repercussions of the coronavirus".

In this regard, Standard & Poor’s proposes to revise the budget deficit in 2020 to 7.7% of GDP with a net public debt above 60% of GDP. As for the contingent liabilities related to state guarantees granted to the private sector, S&P expects a "significant" increase. For the record, the Kingdom’s rating was at "BBB- with a stable outlook" in October 2019.