Emerging Market Downgrades Loom With Debt Cliff, S&P Warns
- Governments footing corporate bailouts coming under pressure
- Energy companies most at risk after `prolific' borrowing
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Emerging markets from the Gulf to Russia are under threat of sovereign ratings downgrades as public companies struggle to meet rising debt loads, S&P Global Ratings warned.
Governments that need to bail out state-owned businesses could face economic weakness, an erosion of revenues and pressure on external accounts, the rating firm said in a report published on Wednesday. Their debt burdens, or contingent liabilities, pose “new potential risks” to sovereign ratings, S&P said.