OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today it raised its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on The Republic of Kazakhstan to 'BBB' from 'BBB-' and its long-term local currency sovereign credit rating to 'BBB+' from 'BBB'.

At the same time, Standard & Poor's raised its short-term local currency rating on the sovereign to 'A-2' from 'A-3'.

In addition, the 'A-2' short-term foreign currency rating and the 'kzAAA' Kazakhstan national scale rating on the sovereign were affirmed. The outlook is stable.

The transfer and convertibility assessment on Kazakhstan was also raised to 'BBB+' from 'BBB'.

"The upgrade is based on ongoing improvements in Kazakhstan's general government balance sheet," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Luc Marchand. "Kazakhstan's economy is still benefiting from the current high oil prices, while the government continues to handle concomitant challenges to macroeconomic stability prudently."