Moody's to keep Pakistan's rating unchanged

Ratings

Moody's will maintain its rating for Pakistan despite political and economic problems facing the nuclear-armed country, a senior analyst from the ratings agency said on Monday.

Moody's downgraded Pakistan's rating to B2 from B1 in May because of growing economic imbalances and political difficulties that analysts say have plagued the government that came to power after the February elections.

“B2 is a stable outlook and that's the way it's going to stay for now,” Aninda Mitra, a senior analyst with Moody's Sovereign Risk Unit, told Reuters.

Mitra said the rating adequately captured the political risk the country was facing, and while dwindling forex reserves were a matter of concern, steps were being taken to address problems.

“We are also mindful of a lot of corrective measures being put together such as the reduction of fuel subsidies, the increase in GST (general sales tax) and so on, and the SBP (the State Bank of Pakistan central bank) has also tightened policy,” Mitra said. (Reuters)

SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL

Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.

Support the BBJ

Finance