Guinea gets S&P rating as Simandou mine seen boosting growth

S&P Global Ratings assigned Guinea a credit rating for the first time as the start of production at the Simandou iron ore mine and other projects are expected to drive strong economic growth.

The B+ foreign-currency rating, with a stable outlook, follows Guinea’s plan to channel part of the revenue from mining the world’s largest iron ore reserve into a sovereign wealth fund to finance major development projects under its Simandou 2040 strategy. The rating from S&P is four levels below investment grade and is the same as Nicaragua and Bangladesh.

Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves, with production reaching 145 million tons last year.

The West African country’s gross domestic product “per capita is low and the economy relatively narrow, but we expect real GDP growth to average 9.5% over 2026-2028, outpacing peers, as the Simandou mine starts production,” S&P said in a statement late Thursday.

The country’s rating is constrained by large imbalances and low levels of foreign-currency reserves, leaving the economy vulnerable to shifts in global commodity prices, with mineral exports accounting for about 90% of hard-currency earnings, S&P said.

(By Katarina Höije)