Moody’s raised Kazakhstan’s rating from Baa3 to Baa2, Outlook Stable.

The upgrade is due to the fact that Kazakhstan's public finances and credit profile are showing resilience in line with the Baa2 countries.

The factors that made it possible to raise the rating were the volume and efficiency of the use of the country's assets, the low level of public debt, as well as the effectiveness of the government's measures to ensure macroeconomic stability.

Moody's positively assessed the effectiveness of countercyclical fiscal policy, which allowed to limit the contraction of real GDP in Kazakhstan in 2020.

The agency expects that the economy of Kazakhstan will grow by 3.5-4% in 2021 and by 4-4.5% in 2022.

According to Moody's, ongoing institutional and economic reforms in Kazakhstan can strengthen the public administration system and increase the investment attractiveness of the country.

Kazakhstan has become one of five countries in the world (out of 144 covered countries) to be upgraded. Since the beginning of this year, less than 15% of Moody's rating actions have been linked to a rating upgrade or positive outlook.