非洲信用评级机构（AfCRA）于上个月成立，旨在挑战全球三大评级机构的主导地位。其临时首席执行官表示，该机构目前正与15个非洲主权国家进行洽谈，并计划于3月前发布首批评级。
The Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), launched last month to challenge the dominance of the world's three biggest ratings firms, is in talks with 15 African sovereigns and aims to publish its first ratings by March, its interim CEO said.
西菲索·法拉拉（Sifiso Falala）对路透社表示，这家总部设在毛里求斯的机构是在非盟2018年的一项倡议后建立的，其工作人员将在包括多哥、肯尼亚、塞舌尔、布隆迪和毛里求斯在内的国家开展调研。他在接受采访时表示：“我们将在3月、3月底之前发布结果。”
Staff from the Mauritius-based agency, established following an African Union initiative in 2018, will conduct research in countries including Togo, Kenya, Seychelles, Burundi and Mauritius, Sifiso Falala told Reuters. "We will be in a position, by March, before the end of March, to have released results," he said in an interview.
AfCRA表示，其目标是通过自身的评级方法，为非洲的信用状况提供一个补充视角。
AfCRA says it aims to offer an additional perspective on African creditworthiness through its ratings approach.
该机构将提供受托主权评级，即由政府付费进行评估，并提供接触官员和财务数据的渠道。该机构还计划对非洲多边放贷机构（包括非洲进出口银行）以及私营金融机构进行评级。
The agency will provide solicited sovereign ratings, under which governments pay for assessments and provide access to officials and financial data. It also plans to rate African multilateral lenders, including Afreximbank, and private financial institutions.
长期以来，非洲领导人一直认为标普全球评级、穆迪和惠誉夸大了该大陆的借贷风险，并在压力时期过快地调降国家评级。
African leaders have long argued that S&P Global Ratings, Moody's and Fitch overstate lending risks on the continent and downgrade countries too quickly during periods of stress.
这些评级机构拒绝接受这些说法，称它们在全球范围内采用相同的评级方法。路透社对非洲债务危机进行的2024年调查发现，没有证据表明这三家公司对所评定的主权信用存在系统性偏见。
The agencies reject those claims, saying they apply the same methodologies globally. A 2024 Reuters investigation into Africa's debt crisis found no evidence of systemic bias in the sovereign ratings assigned by the three firms.
较低的评级通常会通过提高投资者要求的收益率来增加借贷成本，并可能限制某些机构投资者的准入。
Lower ratings typically raise borrowing costs by increasing the yields investors demand and can restrict access to some institutional investors.
法拉拉表示：“借贷成本对非洲来说确实是一个沉重的负担。”他援引估算数据称，与其他地区的借款方相比，非洲经济体每年要多支付750亿美元的利息成本。
"Cost of borrowing is really a huge burden to Africa," Falala said, citing estimates that African economies pay an additional $75 billion a year in interest costs compared with borrowers elsewhere.
法拉拉称，非洲的债务已上升至约1.9万亿美元。非盟估计，该大陆的年度外债还本付息额从2010年的610亿美元攀升至2024年的1630亿美元。
Africa's debt has risen to about $1.9 trillion, Falala said. The African Union estimates the continent's annual external debt-service bill climbed to $163 billion in 2024 from $61 billion in 2010.
法拉拉表示：“非洲需要的是深入的研究。”他补充说，AfCRA旨在减少对国际货币基金组织等国际金融机构数据的依赖。
"What Africa needs is thorough research," Falala said, adding that AfCRA aimed to rely less on data from international financial institutions such as the IMF.
法拉拉说，AfCRA为私营所有，禁止政府持股。该机构由法拉拉和蒂尔哈尼·马布恩达（Tirhani Mabunda）共同创立的南非研究公司Plus 94 Research所有，并计划通过股票出售筹集1500万美元，这将使非洲投资者获得三分之二的股份。
AfCRA is privately owned, with governments barred from holding stakes. It is owned by Plus 94 Research, a South African research company co-founded by Falala and Tirhani Mabunda, and plans to raise $15 million through a share sale that would give African investors a two-thirds stake, Falala said.
他补充说，AfCRA已完成对南非评级机构“非洲主权评级”（Sovereign Africa Ratings）51%股份的收购，该评级机构由法拉拉创立并运营。
He added that AfCRA had completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Sovereign Africa Ratings, a South African ratings firm founded and run by Falala.