S&P upgrades Kazakhstan's sovereign credit rating to “BBB”, outlook stableS&P Global Ratings has raised Kazakhstan's sovereign credit rating to “BBB” from “BBB-“, with a stable outlook, the agency said.The upgrade reflects Kazakhstan's resilient GDP growth outlook as well as its ample external and fiscal buffers that could cushions future shocks, S&P said.S&P expects real GDP growth to reach 5.1% in 2026 before moderating to 4-4.5% in 2027-2029.The agency noted an accelerated increase of output in the construction and manufacturing sectors. In the medium term, S&P expects that fiscal consolidation, reduction in quasi-fiscal activities of key state-owned entities, and recent macroprudential tightening should soften GDP growth to a still relatively high 4%. This growth rate exceeds some of Kazakhstan's commodity-exporting peers.S&P expects Kazakhstan's relatively strong government liquid assets, including government deposits and the National Fund’s external liquid assets, to broadly stabilize at about 21% of GDP.The agency said continued economic expansion supports fiscal consolidation efforts. Steady tax collection allowed the government budget to post a deficit of 1.2% of GDP over the first half of 2026, on track toward its 2.5% of GDP target.Fiscal efforts and favorable commodity prices should allow the authorities to reduce the general government deficit to 1.2%-1.3% of GDP on average in 2026-2029 compared with our earlier expectation of 2.3%--a sharp improvement from 3.7% in 2025, according to S&P.The agency noted that oil remains the key economic sector in Kazakhstan, directly accounting for about 15% of Kazakhstan's GDP, more than 30% of general government revenue, and over half of exports. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX