SA Credit Ratings Upgrades Loom as Public Finances Improve

South Africa's public finances are showing signs of improvement, according to Goldman Sachs Group. The bank forecasts further sovereign credit-rating upgrades for the country within a year.

The prediction comes after data showed corporate tax collections grew by about 5.5% to R385 billion on a semi-annualised basis in June. This figure is well above the R345 billion achieved in the previous fiscal year and the R364 billion projected for the current fiscal year.

Andrew Matheny, an economist at Goldman Sachs, said that the continued strength in these fiscal data reinforces their expectation of further credit upgrades from Moody's and S&P over the next year. 'From a sovereign credit rating perspective, the continued strength in these fiscal data reinforces our expectation that both Moody's and S&P will upgrade their credit ratings over the next year,' Matheny stated.