S&P rates Republic of Congo B-plus with a stable outlook

(Reuters) - Standard & Poor's on Tuesday assigned the Republic of Congo a B-plus long-term sovereign credit rating, citing constraints of political stability and succession as well as an inability to implement policy effectively. The outlook on the credit is stable, S&P said in a statement. "The country displays a low level of economic development. It depends highly on oil and the economy is vulnerable to changes in investor sentiment, given the country's high net external liability position," S&P said. "Fiscal and external data are inconsistent," it added. S&P's ratings action puts it one notch below Moody's Investors Service's newly installed Ba3 rating. Moody's assigned the country a stable outlook on October 11.