Russia 'BBB-/A-3' Ratings Affirmed; Outlook Stable
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OVERVIEW
- We consider that Russia's solid external and public balance sheets,
coupled with a flexible exchange rate and prudent fiscal framework,
should enable its economy to absorb shocks from possible new
international sanctions.
- We are therefore affirming our 'BBB-/A-3' foreign currency and 'BBB/A-2'
local currency sovereign credit ratings on Russia.
- The outlook is stable.
RATING ACTION
On July 20, 2018, S&P Global Ratings affirmed its 'BBB-/A-3' foreign currency
long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Russia, as well as its
'BBB/A-2' local currency long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings. The
outlook is stable.
OUTLOOK
The stable outlook balances the risks emanating from the renewed escalation of
geopolitical tensions against the potential for further strengthening of
Russia's public and external finances.
We may take a positive rating action on Russia in the next 24 months if its
economic recovery gathers momentum and GDP per capita trend growth reaches
rates comparable with countries at similar levels of development.
Faster-than-expected fiscal consolidation, as a result of sustained commitment
to fiscal discipline, could also support a positive rating action. Effective
measures to address long-term fiscal pressures from an aging population could
also put upward pressure on the ratings.
We could take a negative rating action should geopolitical events result in
foreign governments introducing materially tighter sanctions on Russia, for
example, on large state-owned energy companies. We could also take a negative
action if we considered there was a risk of a material deterioration in
Russia's budgetary trajectory, either due to spending pressures or the
crystallization of contingent liabilities in the banking sector or state-owned
enterprises (SOEs).
RATIONALE
The ratings are supported by Russia's commitment to conservative macroeconomic
management, its formidable net external asset position, low government debt,
and considerable monetary flexibility. The ratings are constrained by the
structural weaknesses of the Russian economy, which remains dependent on
revenues from oil and gas exports, as well as by wider institutional and
governance bottlenecks. While Russia's oil and gas sectors only make up around
8% of GDP, they still account for some 45% of total exports. Further rating
constraints include geopolitical tensions and their resulting international
sanctions that could drag on Russia's long-term economic growth prospects.
Institutional and Economic Profile: Sanctions and weak institutions constrain
growth prospects
- Growth is likely to remain below that of peers, not least due to
uncertainty created by international sanctions.
- Russia's macroeconomic policy framework is strong. At the same time, we
believe that implementing structural reform proposals following the
presidential election will be challenging.
- A limited track record of power transfer through competitive elections
result in low visibility over power succession scenario in 2024.
We project that Russia's real GDP growth will likely increase to 1.6% in 2018,
followed by a modest 1.8% on average over 2019-2021. Russia's economic growth
will likely be supported by an ongoing global economic upswing and a moderate
recovery of domestic demand helped by improving bank lending and the
government's proposed boost to public investments. At the same time, negative
demographic trends and low productivity continue to weigh on Russia's
long-term growth potential. Structural impediments to productivity-driven
growth include the state's dominant and increasing role in the economy, the
challenging business and regulatory environment, and relatively low levels of
competition and innovation. We expect these factors will continue to constrain
Russia's pace of per capita growth, which is currently only one-half of the
average pace of growth for the sample of over 30 rated sovereigns with similar
income levels (measured by $ GDP per capita).
At the same time, Russia's macroeconomic policy framework remains, in our
view, prudent. This has allowed the economy to absorb a severe terms-of-trade
shock in 2014-2015 and to withstand the April round of U.S. sanctions, which
targeted a number of large corporates, including one of the world's largest
aluminum exporters UC Rusal. Despite the initial market reaction, the ultimate
impact of the April sanctions on macroeconomic stability has been limited. The
overall policy framework showcased the economy's resilience to renewed
external shocks given the flexible exchange rate regime, adequate capital
buffers in the banking system, and a very modest, if any, retaliatory response
from the Russian government to sanctions. In contrast to Russia's actions in
2014, when it introduced a number of trade restrictions, this time the
government focused on containing risks, and shielding the financial system and
strategically important companies from the imposition of secondary sanctions.
At the same time, the risk premium on Russian assets has increased somewhat
while sanction-related risks have prompted the Russian central bank to put its
easing cycle on hold, which will weigh on growth in the short term.
That said, we believe that the shape and timing of additional sanctions will
likely stem from Russia's foreign policy actions as well as the U.S. domestic
political debate, both of which are difficult to predict. The U.S.
administration has so far refrained from imposing harsher sanctions, including
on the oil and gas sector, and sovereign debt. Although not our baseline
scenario, we consider sanctions on either possible under the 2017 Countering
America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. We believe that such sanctions
would likely have a detrimental effect on Russia's sovereign credit quality.
At the same time, we continue to think that existing international sanctions
will remain in place through our forecast horizon. These sanctions will likely
limit Russia's trend growth and economic diversification efforts, due to high
investor uncertainty and constraints on technology transfer. Were sanctions to
be imposed on sovereign debt (which we consider to be highly unlikely), we
expect these would pertain to the flow (new issuance) rather than the stock
(outstanding holdings).
The recent re-election of President Putin has enabled the government to make a
number of ambitious policy proposals focused on boosting infrastructure and
human capital investment, productivity, and growth. Framed under the new
presidential decree, these proposals involve a number of fiscal and structural
measures and come on top of recent progress in business regulatory reforms,
which is reflected, for example, by Russia's advances in the World Bank's
"Doing Business" ranking. The new policy agenda includes challenging and
unpopular reforms--such as raising the retirement age, reducing the share of
the informal economy, tackling vested interests, and levelling the playing
field for SOEs— all of which could be instrumental in stimulating higher
growth. At the same time, we remain guarded about the prospects of a
substantial strengthening of Russia's investment climate, including
improvements in the judicial system and law enforcement, given our view of a
limited effectiveness of past reform initiatives. Also, while authorities have
regularly discussed privatization and demonopolization in the past,
implemented policies and measures point in the opposite direction, leading us
not to expect any notable reduction in the government's role in the economy.
In our view, Russia suffers from weak checks and balances between institutions
and high centralization of power. We have observed this in recent restrictive
actions toward independent mass media and elevated constraints on genuine
political participation. Although we expect macroeconomic policy continuity in
the next few years, in the longer term, the limited track record and
uncertainty surrounding the succession of power in 2024 could undermine
predictability of policy priorities.