Fitch ranks Pakistan’s credit rating at B negative

According to the details, The agency projected that Pakistan will miss its annual economic growth rate target of four percent along with the budget deficit target of 7.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Federal Minister of Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar said on Sunday that investment had increased manifold due to the government’s policies. He pointed out that the government had not only uplifted the ailing economy but also put it on a path of growth.

#US Credit Agency @FitchRatings gave "Pakistan's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) [a] ‘B-‘ with a Stable Outlook," in addition to projected economic growth of 2.8% this year. https://t.co/K8wL2CmkoU

— South Asia Center (@ACSouthAsia) January 13, 2020

These concerns were voiced by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry & Production and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood at ‘Business-Way Forward’ where he said that though there is economic stabilisation in Pakistan the country has still not seen economic growth.

Fitch said that IMF’s Extended Fund Facility programme was on track, however, “implementation risks remain high in Fitch’s view, particularly given the politically challenging nature of the authorities’ reform agenda”. Fitch said that gross external financing needs are likely to remain high, in the mid-$20 billion range, over the medium-term due to considerable debt repayments and despite the smaller current account deficit.

“Sustaining inflows to meet these financing needs could prove challenging over a longer horizon without stronger export growth and net FDI inflows,” it added.