S&P lifts Pakistan to ‘B’ after a decade

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• Cites improved political, institutional settings and reforms

• Warns weaker fiscal discipline could lead to downgrade

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan regained a ‘B’ rating with a ‘stable’ outlook from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings after almost a decade of junk ratings, following years of painful economic reforms and what the agency described as “improved political and institutional settings”.

“On July 22, S&P Global Ratings raised its long-term sovereign credit rating on Pakistan to ‘B’ from ‘B-’. The outlook is stable,” the US-based agency, one of the world’s top three credit rating firms, said on Wednesday. “We also affirmed the ‘B’ short-term sovereign credit rating,” it added. At the same time, the rating agency also raised Pakistan’s transfer and convertibility assessment to ‘B’ from ‘B-’.