Moody's next move on Gabon's credit rating following the country's military coup this month will depend on its economic impact, while it is also working through another downgrade review of Niger following its coup there in late July.
People celebrate in support of the putschists in the street of Libreville, Gabon.
The two countries have seen West and Central Africa’s seventh and eighth coups in the last three years, and while Niger’s Caa2 rating has already been cut by two full notches by Moody’s, the firm has maintained a “stable” outlook on its slightly higher Caa1 Gabon score for the time being. “The events around the coup are still very much evolving,”Micka Gondrand, Moody’s lead analyst for Gabon said.
A meeting of heads of states of the Economic Community of Central African States remains pending. France and the United States and the African Union have all condemned the coup, with the latter suspending Gabon’s membership. The imposition of any sanctions would weigh on trade and investment, Gondrand said.
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