2019.05.2707:27:00UTC+00Fitch Maintains Qatar's Sovereign Ratings

Fitch Ratings maintained the sovereign ratings of Qatar at 'AA-' on Monday.

The agency said the rating reflects a return to fiscal surpluses, strong sovereign net foreign asset position and external surpluses, and one of the world's highest ratios of GDP per capita.

Although Qatar is exposed to regional geopolitical shocks, risks of escalation are low. However, Fitch observed that there has also been little visible progress in reconciliation efforts.

The general government budget swung to a surplus of 4.6 percent of GDP in 2018 from a deficit of 3.7 percent of GDP in 2017. Fitch expects the general government surplus to narrow to 2.8 percent of GDP in 2019 and 0.2 percent of GDP in 2020.

Further, the agency expects government debt to jump to 63 percent of GDP in 2019 from 59 percent in 2018 despite the fiscal surplus.

The economy is forecast to grow around 2 percent in 2019-2021 after 1.4 percent in 2018.