Business

S&P Global Ratings downgrades Pakistan’s credit score

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

S&P decreases Pakistan’s credit score from B- to CCC+.
Agency maintains Pakistan’s outlook stable.
Fitch and Moody’s have already ranked Pakistan’s bonds below investment grade.

KARACHI: S&P Global Ratings has downgraded Pakistan’s credit score due to the series of shocks — from flooding to surging inflation — that has deteriorated the country’s external, fiscal and economic metrics, reported The News.

The nation’s credit score was downgraded from B- to CCC+ by S&P, which expects Pakistan’s dwindling foreign reserves to remain under pressure in the coming year, just as political risks linger, according to a statement.

“Pakistan’s already low foreign exchange reserves will remain under pressure throughout 2023, barring a material decline in oil prices or a step-up in foreign assistance,” S&P analysts Andrew Wood and YeeFarn Phua wrote.

The country also faces elevated political risks which may affect its policy trajectory over the next year.

Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service already rank the nation’s $7.8 billion in foreign bonds at seven notches below investment grade, the equivalent of S&P’s CCC+ rating, on par with El Salvador and Ukraine. S&P also raised the outlook for Pakistan to stable from negative on Thursday.

The country is facing an economic crisis with only enough reserves to cover one month of imports, a dollar shortage and a delay in its loan programme with the International Monetary Fund. Investors are pessimistic about Pakistan’s ability to keep up with its foreign debt obligations, with long-term dollar bonds continuing to trade at distressed levels despite the payment of a $1 billion bond this month.

S&P said this year’s severe floods, surging food and energy inflation, as well as rising global interest rates, will further depress Pakistan’s economic and fiscal outcomes, with refinancing challenges over the medium term.

Pakistan’s unprecedented floods in the summer killed more than 1,700 people, inundated a third of the nation and cut the nation’s growth by half. The floods have left about $32 billion in damages and losses to the nation’s economy.

Meantime, the current administration is set to end by August of next year or earlier, meaning it has limited time to implement economic reforms.

“We expect political uncertainty to remain elevated over the coming quarters, with continued pressure from the opposition to hold early elections,” the S&P analysts wrote.

The agency maintained its outlook at “stable”.

Business

PSX surpasses the historical 71,500-point threshold.

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Investors celebrated as the PSX finally crossed the historic 71,500 point threshold, signalling a critical turning point in the state of the economy in the country.

The KSE-100 index jumped more than 740 points, soaring to a record high of 71,650 points, demonstrating the tenacity and optimism that pervaded the Pakistani financial market.

This outstanding accomplishment indicates strong growth possibilities for the foreseeable future and demonstrates investors’ faith in the nation’s economic prospects.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)’s KSE-100 index saw a minor decline of 60.92 points on Friday, or 0.09 percent, and ended the day at 70,483.66 points.

In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar lost value in relation to the Pakistani rupee at the same time.

Currency dealers claim that on the first day of the workweek, the value of the US dollar dropped by 11 paisas to Rs278.20 in the interbank market, significantly strengthening the rupee.

Business

Outsourcing: Investors from Turkey stop by the airport in Karachi

Published

3 days ago

Farwa

Turkish investors, who are interested in outsourcing Pakistan’s airport industry, sent a high-level team to Karachi Airport.

The domestic arrival and departure lounge at Karachi airport was visited by the Turkish investment group, according to information. The investors were briefed about the workings of the Karachi airport by a delegation of the Civil Aviation Authority, headed by Secretary Aviation Saif Anjum.

An update on the volume of people and business leaving the airport was also provided to Turkish investors. It is anticipated that the delegation would tour the cargo terminal and CAA headquarters today.

The nation’s three main airports, Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, were formerly to be outsourced by the federal government.

Interest in outsourcing three of Pakistan’s airports has been expressed by local parties as well as investors from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Turkiye.

The timeframe for proposal submission for Islamabad International Airport’s outsourcing was extended by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) earlier on March 21.

The government’s top objective in the process of outsourcing international airports, according to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, is openness.

First, he stated that Pakistan is willing to participate in a public-private partnership to outsource a portion of the airport’s commercial activities.

Business

The inaugural flight of Azerbaijan Airlines is between Baku and Karachi.

Published

6 days ago

Farwa

The national airline of Azerbaijan launched direct flights from Baku to Karachi today. There will be two weekly flights on this route, on Thursdays and Sundays.

The first flight will land in Karachi, and Azerbaijan’s ambassador, Khazar Farhadov, will be there to greet it.

This evening also marks the departure of the inaugural flight from Karachi to Baku, in addition to the arrival of the flight from Baku.

Azerbaijan Airlines said last month that it would be growing its network and flight operations in Pakistan.

Aviation insiders have verified that Azerbaijan Airlines is preparing to launch service to Karachi in the coming month of April.

In addition to its current services in Islamabad and Lahore, the airline plans to launch its Karachi route on April 18, with the inaugural flight anticipated to depart on that date.

Azerbaijan Airlines has been given permission to operate flights on the Karachi route, according to sources within the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Following a bilateral agreement between the two nations, Azerbaijan Airlines has been given permission to extend its operations in Pakistan.