An empty street in Tunisia's capital of Tunis following the closure of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tunisia's economy is projected to shrink 4.3 per cent in 2020. EPA
An empty street in Tunisia's capital of Tunis following the closure of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tunisia's economy is projected to shrink 4.3 per cent in 2020. EPA
An empty street in Tunisia's capital of Tunis following the closure of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tunisia's economy is projected to shrink 4.3 per cent in 2020. EPA
An empty street in Tunisia's capital of Tunis following the closure of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. Tunisia's economy is projected to shrink 4.3 per cent in 2020. EPA

Moody's places Tunisia's B2 rating on review citing weak growth


Jennifer Gnana
  • English
  • Arabic

Moody's has placed Tunisia on review for a downgrade as the North African country faces weak near-term growth amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Tunisia's central bank, which has a B2 rating and is responsible for the repayment of the government's bonds, is also on review for a possible downgrade, according to the ratings agency.

The decision reflects "the acute tightening in global financing conditions that risks precipitating a sustained period of high financing risk, exacerbated further by Tunisia's weakened near-term economic growth prospects", Moody's said.

Tunisia's economy is projected to shrink 4.3 per cent in 2020, its deepest contraction since it gained independence in 1956, according to the International Monetary Fund. The Washington-based lender approved a $745 million (Dh2.7bn) emergency loan earlier this month to help the North African country mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tunisia has 864 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with 37 reported deaths as of Saturday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The infection has hit the country's crucial tourism sector which generates about 10 per cent of its gross domestic product.

A deteriorating global economic outlook and falling oil prices, as well as asset price declines, have created "an extensive credit shock" across many sectors, regions and markets, noted Moody's.

"For Tunisia, the shock transmits mainly through wider risk premia, a drop in tourism revenue and a sharp slowdown in GDP growth that weaken the sovereign's liquidity and external position and raise its debt burden," the agency said.

Moody's review will run beyond the usual three-month horizon, as it waits to see the country's capacity to handle the economic, financial and social pressures caused by the pandemic.

Limited foreign exchange buffers, a rigid spending structure and challenging social conditions are likely to increase financing risks for the North African state, the agency said.

Tunisia's government relies to a large degree on external official funding, equivalent to around10 to 15 per cent of its GDP. Moody's noted that the Tunisian government may need more funding in addition to the disbursement from the IMF as fiscal and current account deficits could widen.

The agency expects Tunisia's fiscal deficit to grow to more than 5 per cent of GDP in 2020, from 3.5 per cent last year. The agency previously estimated a contraction to 3 per cent in February, before the spread of the pandemic. The country's debt ratio is expected to increase towards 80 per cent of GDP this year, against previous expectations of stabilisation at below 75 per cent.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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1. Fasting

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5. Zakat 

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Keane on …

Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”

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Sheer grandeur

The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.

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While you're here
LIVING IN...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
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Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
 

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Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

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German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe. 

"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.

Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.