CI affirms #Qatar’s foreign and local currency issuer ratings; upgrades outlook to 'stable'

CI affirms Qatar’s foreign and local currency issuer ratings; upgrades outlook to 'stable':

Capital Intelligence (CI), the international credit rating agency, has affirmed Qatar’s long-term foreign and local currency issuer ratings at ‘AA-’ and short-term foreign and local currency ratings at ‘A1+’, while upgrading the outlook on them to "stable" from "negative".

The ratings and "stable" outlook reflect substantial improvements in the budget and current account balances in 2018, as well as CI’s expectation that the country’s fiscal and external positions will remain relatively stable in the coming years.

Qatar’s ratings continue to be primarily supported by very large hydrocarbon reserves and substantial government assets under the management of Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund.