OVERVIEW

The lower-than-expected Brent oil price assumptions for 2016 and a 
slowdown in oil production in existing oil fields will impair Gabon's 
external and fiscal balances, as well as the country's economic growth 
prospects given its high dependence on oil.
We are affirming our long-term sovereign credit ratings on Gabon at 'B'.
We are also withdrawing the ratings at the issuer’s request.
The outlook at the time of the withdrawal is stable.

RATING ACTION

On April 1, 2016, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its long- and 
short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Gabonese
Republic at 'B/B'. The outlook at the time of the withdrawal was stable. We 
subsequently withdrew the ratings and T&C assessment at the issuer's request.

As a "sovereign rating" (as defined in EU CRA Regulation 1060/2009 "EU CRA 
Regulation"), the ratings on the Republic of Gabon are subject to certain 
publication restrictions set out in Art 8a of the EU CRA Regulation, including
publication in accordance with a pre-established calendar (see "Calendar Of 
2016 EMEA Sovereign, Regional, And Local Government Rating Publication Dates,"
published Dec. 22, 2015, on RatingsDirect). Under the EU CRA Regulation, 
deviations from the announced calendar are allowed only in limited 
circumstances and must be accompanied by a detailed explanation of the reasons
for the deviation. In this case, the reason for the deviation is the issuer's 
request that the ratings be withdrawn.

RATIONALE

The Gabonese government requested us to withdraw our rating after our rating 
action on Jan. 29, 2016 (see “Republic of Gabon Ratings Lowered To 'B' From 
'B+'; Outlook Stable”). Our lowering of our assumptions for average Brent oil 
by $15 to $20 across the forecast horizon motivated the downgrade. We think 
that the lower-than-previously-expected oil price and a slowdown in oil 
production in existing oil fields will impair Gabon's external and fiscal 
balances, as well as the country's economic growth prospects given the 
economy's heavy dependence on the oil sector.

Despite decades of oil production and several years of fiscal surpluses, 
fiscal buffers are low, as fiscal policy has been largely pro-cyclical. We 
understand that the government has cleared past arrears.

In 2015, the government announced a series of stabilization measures to deal 
with the lower oil price environment and adopted a supplementary budget based 
on a Brent oil price of $45/bbl.

We also expect the government will finance its deficits primarily by drawing 
down its deposits at the BEAC and commercial banks, and by tapping the 
regional bond market.

We expect Gabon's political environment under President Ali Bongo to remain 
stable through the August 2016 presidential election. We note, however, that 
occasionally violent opposition protests and oil sector strikes, which 
temporarily shut the country's main refinery in late 2014, point to increasing
sociopolitical challenges.

Gabon's monetary flexibility is limited by the CFA franc's peg to the euro, as
is the case with any pegged arrangement, and by being part of a broader 
monetary union.

OUTLOOK

The stable outlook at the time of the withdrawal reflected our view that 
Gabon’s weakening fiscal and external balances will nonetheless be consistent 
with a ‘B’ rating and that improved debt management will help avoid the 
recurrence of arrears.

KEY STATISTICS

Table 1

RATINGS SCORE SNAPSHOT

Table 2

RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH

Related Criteria

Criteria - Governments - Sovereigns: Sovereign Rating Methodology - 
December 23, 2014
General Criteria: Methodology For Linking Short-Term And Long-Term Ratings
For Corporate, Insurance, And Sovereign Issuers - May 07, 2013
General Criteria: Methodology: Criteria For Determining Transfer And 
Convertibility Assessments - May 18, 2009

Related Research

Default, Transition, and Recovery: 2014 Annual Sovereign Default Study 
AndRating Transitions - May 18, 2015
Research Update: Republic of Gabon Ratings Lowered To 'B' From 'B+'; 
Outlook Stable - Jan. 29, 2016

In accordance with our relevant policies and procedures, the Rating Committee 
was composed of analysts that are qualified to vote in the committee, with 
sufficient experience to convey the appropriate level of knowledge and 
understanding of the methodology applicable (see 'Related Criteria And 
Research'). At the onset of the committee, the chair confirmed that the 
information provided to the Rating Committee by the primary analyst had been 
distributed in a timely manner and was sufficient for Committee members to 
make an informed decision.

After the primary analyst gave opening remarks and explained the 
recommendation, the Committee discussed key rating factors and critical issues
in accordance with the relevant criteria. Qualitative and quantitative risk 
factors were considered and discussed, looking at track-record and forecasts.

The committee agreed that the fiscal assessment deteriorated and all other key
rating factors were unchanged.

The chair ensured every voting member was given the opportunity to articulate 
his/her opinion. The chair or designee reviewed the draft report to ensure 
consistency with the Committee decision. The views and the decision of the 
rating committee are summarized in the above rationale and outlook. The 
weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used in this 
rating action (see 'Related Criteria and Research').

RATINGS LIST

                                             Rating                           
                                             To                From           
Gabon (Republic of)
 Sovereign Credit Rating                                                      
  Foreign and Local Currency                 B/Stable/B        B/Stable/B     
 Transfer & Convertibility Assessment        BBB-              BBB-           
 Senior Unsecured                                                             
  Foreign Currency                           B                 B              

Ratings Subsequently Withdrawn

Gabon (Republic of)
 Sovereign Credit Rating                                                      
  Foreign and Local Currency                 NR                B/Stable/B     
 Transfer & Convertibility Assessment        NR                BBB-           
 Senior Unsecured                                                             
  Foreign Currency                           NR                B              

NR--Not rated

Certain terms used in this report, particularly certain adjectives used to 
express our view on rating relevant factors, have specific meanings ascribed 
to them in our criteria, and should therefore be read in conjunction with such
criteria. Please see Ratings Criteria at www.standardandpoors.com for further 
information.

Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect at 
www.globalcreditportal.com and at spcapitaliq.com. All ratings affected by 
this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at 
www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left 
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