Moody's affirms UAE's Aa2 rating; maintains stable outlook

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday affirmed the long-term issuer rating of the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Aa2, a statement said, adding that the outlook remains stable.

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The rating affirmation is supported by the key rating factors, namely, Moody's assumption of unconditional support from Abu Dhabi (Aa2 stable) to the federal government; and strong credit fundamentals including very high fiscal strength, with a broadly balanced budget and negligible or very low federal government debt, high wealth levels and robust institutions, the statement added.

“The stable outlook indicates that the risks to the ratings are broadly balanced supported by the stable outlook on the Abu Dhabi sovereign rating, upside potential from continuing diversification efforts, and constrained by lingering government-related entity contingent liabilities and geopolitical tensions,” Moody’s noted in the statement.