Kazakhstan credit rating: The international rating agency Fitch has affirmed Kazakhstan’s long-term foreign and local currency IDRs at BBB+ and A- respectively, but warned about the potential negative impact of a slowdown in the Russian economy. While it noted that Kazakhstan had “a strong sovereign balance sheet and the third highest net sovereign foreign assets in the BBB category”, it also pointed out that Kazakhstan’s membership of the Customs Union could leave it vulnerable to the effect of wide-ranging trade or financial sanctions being imposed on Russia by the West. TREND