(Reuters) – S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday revised Kenya’s outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’, citing that the coronavirus pandemic will slow the country’s GDP growth significantly in 2020 and weigh on its already weak public finances.

“Although external financial support, including from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will help fund Kenya’s twin fiscal and external deficits in 2020, external debt will rise sharply in 2020 and remain high in 2020-2023,” the ratings agency said in a statement here

S&P affirmed Kenya’s ratings at ‘B+/B’.