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| Mykola Azarov (l) and Viktor Yanukovich: election should move Ukraine out of impasse |
The election of Viktor Yanukovich as Ukraine’s president and the formation of a new pro-Yanukovich coalition government headed by Mykola Azarov as prime minister has raised hopes that the political impasse that has plagued Ukraine for the past couple of years is at an end and that the country will be able to regain some economic credibility.
News that Yanukovich had succeeded in forming a new government in mid-March prompted a positive response from abroad, with Standard & Poor’s raising its sovereign ratings for the country. S&P boosted its foreign-currency rating to B– from CCC+, and the local-currency rating was raised to B from B–.
The ratings will affect about $5 billion-worth of foreign-currency government debt and Hrn77 billion ($9.5 billion) of hryvnia-denominated state obligations.
The outlook on both ratings is positive, with S&P sovereign analyst Frank Gill commenting: "The positive outlook reflects the potential for the new government to improve coordination with the presidential administration to achieve a more sustainable budgetary position and to continue to support the stability of the badly hit financial sector and the real economy.