The international credit rating agency S&P has released its assessment results, stating that China's significant investment in the Simandou iron ore project has effectively improved Guinea's economic development prospects. This evaluation has raised the outlook for Guinea's sovereign credit rating to positive, while maintaining its B+credit rating.

According to the latest analysis by S&P, the Simandou iron mine has a huge undeveloped iron ore reserve that is scarce worldwide. Since its launch in November last year, this project has gradually brought stable fiscal revenue to the Guinean government and continued to release economic dividends. The S&P report predicts that by the end of 2025, Guinea's foreign exchange reserves will have nearly doubled, reaching a total of $4.1 billion, and public fiscal revenue will also increase by 46%. This growth mainly relies on the increase in income from the mining industry, as well as the support of the optimization and reform of the country's tax and customs management system.

Positive news highlights full potential

Giba Diakit, Director of the Office of the President of Guinea and Chairman of the Simandou Strategic Committee, stated that Guinea's credit rating outlook has been upgraded from stable to a positive and stable B+rating, further consolidating the country's position as a high-quality sovereign financing country in Africa. Diakit pointed out that the upward revision of the rating outlook sends a positive signal to global economic, trade, and financial partners, fully demonstrating Guinea's continued attractiveness to international investors and confirming that under the leadership of President Mamadi Dunbouya, Guinea's economy has strong potential for further development.

S&P institutions are optimistic about the economic growth trend of Guinea and predict that the country's real GDP will have an average annual growth rate of nearly 10% from 2026 to 2029. The impressive growth expectations are mainly due to the implementation of the Simandou large-scale comprehensive project with a total investment of over 20 billion US dollars, the expansion of refining capacity, and various major infrastructure projects. At the same time, S&P also mentioned that Guinea has good industrial diversification development space in agriculture, information and communication, manufacturing and other fields, and the economic development formats will continue to be rich. Diakit believes that the smooth production of the Simandou project, coupled with the continuous inflow of foreign investment, has greatly enhanced Guinea's ability to resist international economic uncertainty, effectively hedging against external risks caused by Middle Eastern geopolitical conflicts, energy price fluctuations, and supply chain instability.

Multiple Empowerment for Long Term Development

S&P stated that a series of political achievements, such as the implementation of Guinea's new constitution in September 2025 and the successful holding of high participation presidential elections in December, will promote the comprehensive lifting of remaining sanctions against Guinea by the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, and clear obstacles to economic development. Diakit stated that at the critical stage of the full implementation of the Simandou 2040 Sustainable Social Responsibility Economic Development Plan, the credit rating upgrade has further boosted Guinea's overall economic development prospects. He stated that this grand national development and revitalization plan will help Guinea embark on a new wave of economic growth and foreign investment, and will continue to consolidate its development advantages, solidify its economic foundation, and benefit the entire population. According to the International Monetary Fund and multiple authoritative institutions, the Simandou iron ore project is expected to drive Guinea's GDP growth by 20% to 30% in the next decade, and the growth rate may further expand. Keywords: China, Guinea GDP

Unlike traditional mining projects that export a single raw material, the Simandou project is Africa's first comprehensive iron ore project with a full industry chain, covering iron ore mining, a 600 kilometer cross-border railway, a deep-water mineral port in Forecaria, and a local iron ore processing steel plant, building a complete industrial development system.Editor/Gong Ziwei