Fitch Ratings has upgraded Namibia's National rating on the South African scale to 'AA+(zaf)' from 'AA-(zaf)'. The Outlook is Stable. Fitch has also upgraded Namibia's senior unsecured bonds rated on the national scale to 'AA+(zaf)' from 'AA-(zaf)'.
Fitch affirmed Namibia's Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB-' and 'BBB', respectively, with Stable Outlooks on 13 November 2015.
KEY RATING DRIVERS
The upgrade follows the recalibration of the South African National rating scale following Fitch's downgrade of South Africa's Long-term local currency IDR to 'BBB' from 'BBB+' on 4 December 2015. National rating scales provide a relative measure of creditworthiness for rated entities only within the country concerned and are mapped against the international local currency rating scale for that country. According to Fitch's revised South Africa National rating scale mapping, a 'BBB' local currency rating is now equivalent to a National rating of 'AA(zaf)' or above. In this context, Namibia's 'AA+(zaf)' rating denotes Fitch's expectations of very low default risk relative to other issuers or obligations in South Africa.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
Namibia's National Rating is sensitive to Namibia's sovereign rating as well as South Africa's sovereign rating. A change in Fitch's assessment of either Namibia or South Africa's credit quality would result in a change in Namibia's National Rating.
