OREANDA-NEWS. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on April 11, 2014 affirmed its 'B-' long-term and 'B' short-term sovereign credit ratings on the Republic of Belarus; the outlook is stable, the ratings agency said in a press-release.

The ratings on Belarus are constrained by political risks, high government financing needs, and heavy reliance on external funding. S&P believes the Belarusian government's high foreign currency financing needs in 2014 and 2015, alongside the possibility of expansionary fiscal policy in the run-up to the presidential elections in 2015, also detract from Belarus' creditworthiness.

Policy predictability is weak in Belarus, S&P analysts say. “Final decision-making is in the hands of the president, who controls all branches of power. The president's administration controls all strategic decisions and sets the policy agenda, whereas the government is a technocratic body that implements decisions. We consider accountability, checks, and balances to be weak,” S&P analysts said.

“Some policy effectiveness exists, however, as shown by a relatively high ranking on the U.N.'s human development index (GDP per capita - USD 7,591). Heavy dependence on Russia for financial and economic support also poses risks for Belarus,” S&P analysts said.

Belarus also benefits from strong industrial capital, a highly educated workforce, and relatively low government debt.

S&P analysts suppose Belarus' real GDP growth will be as high as 0.5% in 2014, 1% in 2015, 2.2% in 2016, 2.5% in 2017. In nominal terms, Belarus' GDP will total USD 101 billion in 2017, according to S&P estimates.