Fitch lauds improvements in business climate.

Byline: Fayaz Hussain

KARACHI -- Pakistan is one of the 10 economies where the business climate has improved the most over the past year, said Fitch Ratings in a report issued on Friday.

The rating agency also acknowledged the policy measures taken by government to narrow the current account deficit and lowering the trajectory of gross external financing needs.

Fitch report comes after Pakistan jumped 28 places on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business 2020 securing a place in the list of top 10 countries with most improvements in the area of doing business.

The agency said the country could meet the financing needs by improving export performance although it remains unclear how far it will be able to successful in enhancing competitiveness and attracting foreign direct investment.

In addition, it said the country faces annual external debt obligations of about $8-9 billion for next several years partially related to the repayments for loans under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Pakistan paid $11.588bn in external debt servicing costs during the last fiscal year. Rising financing costs have limited the government ability to focus on poverty alleviation and limited its room to spend on development initiatives.

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