Categories: General
      Date: Nov 14, 2007
     Title: Almaty's ratings affirmed with stable outlook - Fitch

Fitch Ratings said it has affirmed Kazakhstan's City of Almaty long-term foreign and local currency 'BB+' ratings and a short-term foreign currency 'B' rating. Fitch also assigned it a national long-term 'A+(kaz)' rating.

All the rating outlooks are stable to reflect Fitch's expectation that economic growth will underpin stable revenue growth, allowing the city to compensate for increasing expenditures and maintain an operating balance at satisfactory level.

The ratings reflect the city's well-diversified and growing economy, stable growth in tax revenue, high level of capital spending and low debt burden, the ratings agency said.

The ratings also factor in the city dependence upon the central government in terms of decisions on inter-regional equalization transfers, and limited financial flexibility of the city, it added.

Almaty is the largest city in Kazakhstan and is located in the south-eastern part of the country.