Fitch Affirms Kuwait’s IDR Rating at ‘AA” with a Stable Outlook

April 09, 2020 | Updated at April 09, 2020

Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings (Fitch) has affirmed Kuwait's long-term foreign-currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'AA' with a Stable Outlook. Fitch stated that this affirmation was driven by Kuwait’s strong fiscal and external balance sheets, which are increasingly counterbalanced by the country’s institutional paralysis and slowness in addressing emerging public finance challenges due to heavy oil dependence.

Fitch estimated foreign assets of Kuwait Investment Authority to be at around USD 529 billion, for the year ending March 2020. This accounts for the bulk of Kuwait's sovereign net foreign asset position of 472% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the highest of any Fitch-rated sovereign.