Rating agency Standard and Poor has revised its outlook on South Africa's economic ratings from 'stable' to 'positive'.

This has been attributed to the country's positive economic outlook and its persistent sound macroeconomic management and policies, as well as a readily manageable and declining debt burden which has helped the country to weather periods of high currency volatility.

The National Treasury said in a statement yesterday that this brought the number of rating agency upgrades received by South Africa in the last twelve months to three.

'In November 2001, another agency Moody's upgraded the country's long term foreign currency debt from Baa3 to Baa2 and hiked government's domestic debt by two notches from Baa1 to A2'.

And in August 2002, Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on South Africa's foreign currency debt from 'stable' to 'positive'.

'Standard and Poor's expect sound fiscal and monetary policies, coupled with growth enhancing fiscal reforms, to bolster the ratings on South Africa over the coming years'.

Standard and Poor is a valuable tool for statistical analysis, back-testing and historic sector performance attribution.

Upgrading the country in terms of status, the evaluator said a readily manageable and declining debt burden had helped South Africa to weather periods of high currency volatility.

'The National Treasury welcomes these upgrades which confirm the correctness of South Africa's macroeconomic policy stance. Their impact on the fiscus will be a further decline in debt service costs, which will allow us to make even more resources available for social and infrastructure spending'.

It added that more importantly, however, they confirm a perception of 'safe haven' status that investors were gradually developing about South Africa in a world ravaged by slow economic growth and rampant rating downgrades.

'We continue to believe that with a long macroeconomic policy formulation, growth enhancing structural reforms and resultants resilience of the South African economy, it is possible to grow this economy to levels that will make it possible to meaningfully reduce poverty and unemployment.' - BuaNews