Pakistan Credit Rating Raised to ‘Positive’ from ‘Stable’

Standard & Poor’s revised its foreign currency credit rating on Pakistan to positive from stable on December 28, citing improvements in external debt indicators. The ratings agency affirmed its current ‘B+’ foreign currency and ‘BB’ local currency long-term and its ‘B’ short-term sovereign ratings assigned to Pakistan. “Sharp declines in the government’s external debt indicators and structural improvements that, over time, should help Pakistan’s export capacity motivated the change in outlook for the foreign currency rating,” S&P sovereign credit analyst Agost Benard said in a statement. “Pakistan’s net general government external debt to current account receipts has improved to an estimated 81 per cent currently from 244 per cent at year-end 2000,” Benard said.