MENA: No Downward Revisions, Despite Global Turmoil
August 2008 | Sovereign Risk RatingIf you would like to subscribe to Emerging Markets Monitor and gain instant access to this article, please click here to subscribe.
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It is testament to the resilience of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to the current global macroeconomic turmoil that we do not begin this assessment, as our colleagues in the Latin America, Europe and Africa teams did, with a warning of widespread downward revisions in our Sovereign Risk Ratings. Indeed, we have only one downward move this quarter, and that (Israel) to the tune of a single point, leaving the country's overall grade unchanged. The other states stay stable, or see minor improvements, while Lebanon sees a substantial upgrade. Our new entry Iraq cannot be upwardly revised as this is its debut in the sovereign ratings system, but it certainly shows remarkable progress compared with retrospectively projected scores for 2005-2007.