Fitch Affirms Kazakhstan's Sovereign Credit Rating

The international rating agency Fitch confirmed the sovereign credit rating of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the level of "BBB", the forecast is "Stable".

The key factors supporting Kazakhstan's rating are the strong fiscal and external balance sheets, which, according to the agency's analysts, have proven to be resilient to external shocks. It is also noted that significant fiscal buffers allow maintaining the status of a net external creditor.

Kazakhstan has been assigned a high sovereign position in terms of net foreign assets, which at the end of 2021 amounted to 37% of GDP.

The Fitch report highlights the stable and adequate capitalization of the Kazakh banking sector with a NPL ratio of 4.6% as of Q3 2022.

According to analysts, high interest rates on deposits in the national currency and a number of other measures prevented the withdrawal of funds from deposits.

Recently, ESG indicators have been one of the key rating factors.

According to the "creditors' rights" indicator, the non-admission of public debt restructuring for more than 20 years has a positive impact on the credit profile of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Fitch report says.