Tunisia may not be able to repay IMF, says US bank

Tunisia may not be able to pay its debts to the International Monetary Fund if the deterioration of its economic and financial situation continues, a major US bank warned on Monday.

“In a scenario where the current rate of fiscal deterioration continues, it is probable that Tunisia would default on its debt,” explained the Morgan Stanley Bank. It added that the Tunisian crisis is likely to happen next year unless it secures a quick IMF programme and makes major spending cuts.

Meanwhile, the Fitch credit rating agency downgraded Tunisia’s sovereign score on Friday to “CCC” from “B minus”. According to Reuters, Fitch estimated that an 8.5 per cent of GDP government deficit this year would push Tunisia’s debt-to-GDP ratio up to 84 per cent.

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