Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ras Al Khaimah's (RAK) long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) at “A”, with a “Stable” outlook, according to a statement.

The ratings reflect the benefits of RAK's membership of the UAE, a low government debt burden, high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and governance indicators that are close to the “A” median, balancing the emirate against its small size and weaknesses in the policy framework.

Fitch expected the government and its trading entities' (SOEs) debt to fall to around 24% of the GDP in 2017 from 32% of the GDP in 2015. The government’s debt, excluding SOEs, is around 16% of GDP.

The budget is likely to post a deficit of 0.7% of the GDP in 2017, before returning to a surplus in 2018/s2019.

Revenues in 2017 will essentially be flat in nominal terms, while spending will grow nearly 30%.

The ratings agency expected real GDP growth to slow to 3.6% in 2017 from 4.6% in 2016, factoring in the impact of the sanctions that the UAE had imposed on Qatar in June 2017.