(Business in Cameroon) - US ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) confirmed, on October 13, 2017, the ‘B/B’ rating  assigned to Cameroon’s long and short terms sovereign debt, with a stable outlook, an official statement revealed.

Indeed, despite “risks related to presidential succession”, and the fact that “significant tensions between the Anglophone minority and the central government persist in the northwest and southwest regions”, or that “threats from the Boko Haram terrorist group also remain in the Cameroon's Far North region”, S&P anticipates that “the real GDP growth will average 4.6% in 2017-2020, driven by the implementation of large infrastructure projects such as the Kribi deep-water port, the Lom Pangar power station, and various dam and road projects”.

The ratings agency also anticipates that the “gas production will surge in 2018 thanks to the start of the floating liquefied natural gas terminal, which should compensate the decline in oil production observed since 2016.”

However, S&P warned that it could lower Cameroon’s rating if “elevated political instability or other shocks occur, resulting, for example, in pressures on the exchange rate and on foreign exchange reserves. The ratings could also come under pressure if government and external debt increase faster than we currently expect”.

Brice R. Mbodiam