Further downgrades of SA's sovereign credit rating by two rating agencies will have "immediate implications for our borrowing costs" and constrain the country's already-strained fiscal framework, according to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.
On Saturday morning, Mboweni was reacting to Fitch and Moody's further lowering their assessments of SA's sovereign debt deeper into sub -investment grade, or 'junk'.
On Friday evening, Fitch announced that it had lowered the rating of SA's long-term foreign currency debt to 'BB-' from 'BB', with a negative outlook. 'BB-' is the third rung of junk grade, according to Fitch's rating hierarchy.
