Consultancy for feasibility assesment of Sovereign Credit Rating Exercise in Mauritania

Result of Service The ultimate result would be: I. A final report in French on the assessment of the feasibility of a sovereign rating in Mauritania including:. i- An executive summary highlighting the main conclusions and recommendations; ii.- Introduction iii- The functioning of credit rating agencies and iv- Sovereign rating: methodology and information requirements v- Comparative analysis of sovereign ratings of West African economies and Conclusion,

II. Substantial support for the report validation meetings

Work Location Addis Ababa

Expected duration 6 Months

Duties and Responsibilities BACKGROUND According to the joint Debt Sustainability Assessment (DSA) conducted by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December 2021, Mauritania's external debt remains at a high risk of distress. Nevertheless, the debt restructuring agreement that was announced in April 2022, converting a non-concessional deposit at the Central Bank into a concessional loan, is expected to improve the debt sustainability risk assessment from high to moderate. It is expected that debt policy will remain focused on using concessional financing and lengthening the debt profile to ensure that the risk of external distress stabilizes at a moderate level over the medium term (World Bank, 2022).

In Africa, 22 of 54 countries have never been rated by an international rating agency . Despite increasing engagement by the countries rated, a common trend has been that most of them have not been able to upgrade their ratings and a considerable number of them even experienced downgrades. For this reason, it is important to understand the sovereign rating exercise and how to maintain or improve one's rating.

Against this background, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through the Private Sector and Development Finance Division (PSDFD) and with the support of the French Development Agency (AFD), is collaborating with the Mauritanian government to conduct a feasibility study to analyse the country's capacity to obtain a sovereign rating.

The objective of the mission is to conduct a feasibility study of a sovereign rating in Mauritania in order to (i) explain how rating agencies operate in terms of business and analytical process and products including rating scales (local/regional/global), rating in local or foreign currency (ii) present how credit ratings can be used by sovereign issuers/counterparties, investors and other stakeholders (iii) Present the information and data requirements of rating agencies to enhance the government's capacity in its credit rating readiness phase to acquire and maintain the highest possible sovereign rating.

The consultant shall report to and perform the assigned tasks under the direction of the Director, Private sector development and finance Division (PSDFD) of ECA, overall guidance and supervision of the Chief of Innovative Finance and capital Markets Section (IFCMS), and day to day supervision of the designated ECA Officer. The working language of this consultancy would be French.

Duties & Responsibilities The Consultant will assume the following duties and responsibilities: - Draft inception report outlining proposed approach and workplan to be approved by ECA; - Hold consultation meetings with technical representatives of different Mauritanian Institutions; - Raise awareness of the Government of Mauritania on credit rating processes and contracting with rating agencies; - Sensitize the different sectors for a coordinated approach to rating agency engagement; - Raise awareness among the Government of Mauritania and stakeholders of the information and data requirements expected by the rating agencies in both acquiring and maintaining a sovereign rating; - Provide recommendations in preparation for the rating exercise; - Draft an analytical note setting out the outcomes from the interviews and the findings of desk review/research

Qualifications/special skills Advanced university degree (Master’s Degree, MBA or equivalent) in Governance and Public Policy, economics, finance or risk management is required. Knowledge in policy development, global capital markets, credit risk analysis or sovereign debt management is desirable. A first level university degree in a combination of additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the master’s degree. A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in policy development, global capital markets, credit risk analysis and sovereign debt management development work in Africa is required. Experience in the normative and/ or operational work of the African Union and the United Nations Development System in Africa is highly desirable. Experience in multilateral, regional, and/or national development financing institutions is highly desirable.

Languages English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Fluency in spoken and written language of French is required for this task. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.