Ghana was awarded a credit rating for the first time, on Firday, under a new plan aimed at giving developing countries access to the international capital markets. Standard & Poor's, the largest rating agency, assigned Ghana a long-term sovereign rating of B+, four notches below investment grade.

Ghana is the first country to receive a rating under the initiative, launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and S&P to help sub-Saharan African and other developing countries obtain sovereign credit ratings.

UNDP hopes better access to financing would help developing countries achieve the accelerated rates of economic growth they need to reduce poverty. Adrienne Roberts, London