The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has welcomed the decision by Moody's Ratings to affirm the city's long-term issuer rating at Ba3, while revising the outlook to positive, following the conclusion of its review.
The city, in a media release, says the rating affirmation and positive outlook represent an important vote of confidence in the city's financial resilience, its ability to meet its debt obligations and the strength of Johannesburg's economic fundamentals despite a challenging operating environment.
The CoJ says its successful restoration of compliance with the JSE debt listings requirements, following the publication of its audited annual financial statements, resulted in the lifting of the suspension of its debt instruments and removed any potential risk associated with debt acceleration.
Throughout this period, the city says, it demonstrated sound financial management, sufficient liquidity to service its obligations and an unwavering commitment to investors and financial markets.
Moody's recognised several key strengths underpinning the city's credit profile, including a resilient and diversified metropolitan economy that contributes about 15% of South Africa's GDP; stable operating performance supported by improved electricity sales and prudent financial management; a moderate and sustainable debt profile; continued access to capital funding and government grants to support infrastructure investment; and consistent servicing of all debt obligations, even during the temporary JSE suspension.
