S. African president convenes CEOs meeting to avert rating downgrade

South African President Jacob Zuma convened a meeting of CEOs of major companies in Pretoria Friday to discuss how to avert a downgrade in the country's sovereign credit rating.

"The intended outcome is to build confidence in the economy and reignite growth, and to help the country avert a downgrade in the country's sovereign credit rating," Zuma told reporters after the meeting.

"The meeting appeals to all in our country to refrain from making public utterances that promote a negative narrative about the country, which undermines our collective drive to reignite economic growth and jeopardise job creation," Zuma said.

Zuma was apparently referring to dissent by some members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in recent weeks. Divisions within the ANC have widened since it suffered its worst-ever local election results last month.

Zuma appealed for calm and cooperation between the government and the business sector.

The president said the country managed to avoid a downgrade in June by building confidence among investors about the country's prospects.

The meeting came as ratings agency Moody's warned on Friday that it would probably downgrade the country's rating later this year.

"We would likely downgrade South Africa's rating in the absence of growth recovery and more fundamental structural reforms that put the economy on a high and sustainable growth path,"the agency said in a credit opinion note.

Despite the 3.3 percent gross domestic product growth recorded in the second quarter of 2016, Moody's is of the view that South Africa's GDP growth will "nearly stagnate" at 0.2 percent for the whole of 2016, before recovering to 1.1 percent in 2017 and 2 percent in 2018.

Earlier this week, Moody's said it might cut the investment ratings of five South African state-run parastatals.

Moody's urged the government to end political infighting, lift economic growth and reform the debt-ridden state-owned companies. Endit