BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 23, 2020– According to an article published on S&P Global’s website on April 17, the agency downgraded Belize’s long-term foreign and local-currency sovereign credit ratings from a B- to a CCC, with a negative outlook. They also lowered the short-term foreign and local currency ratings of the country from a B to a C.

The agency, in explaining the reasons for the lower credit ratings, referred to the country’s net general government debt, which is 97 percent of GDP, and it also predicted a significant contraction of Belize’s GDP in 2020.

In broader terms, our sovereign credit ratings indicate that foreign investors risk incurring a financial loss if they invest in Belize in 2020. Despite the impacts of COVID-19, however, the article went on to express what has really contributed to Belize’s risk factor:

“Belize’s creditworthiness is constrained by institutional weakness that includes a track record of poor capability to maintain sustainable public finances across administrations.”

The report which illustrated these findings highlighted four other tourism-dependent Latin American countries which are being drastically affected by COVID-19, namely: Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Aruba and the Bahamas.

Belize’s tourism sector was significantly impacted even before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country on April 23. As early as March 13, major cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise line and Royal Caribbean suspended their visits to Belize, and the result has been mass unemployment in the country.

According to GOB-appointed “economic czar” Dr. Carla Barnett, as of March 25, about 80% of hotel employees (about 14,000 persons) were without work and 100% of tour operators (2,300-2,500 persons) were also without work.