Barclays upgrades Pakistan sovereign debt to ‘overweight’: Bloomberg
- Barclays upgraded Pakistan's dollar bonds to 'overweight,' citing improved oil prospects and the nation's resilient external position and economic stability
Barclays upgraded Pakistan's dollar bonds to "overweight" from a previous lower rating, citing improved oil market prospects and the country's resilient external position, fiscal improvements, and stable reserves.
- Barclays' "overweight" rating definition.
- Pakistan's improved fiscal and external positions.
- Factors contributing to the bond upgrade.
KARACHI: British financial institution Barclays has upgraded Pakistan’s dollar bonds to overweight after having lowered the rating the previous month, citing improved oil market prospects, it emerged on Wednesday.
The upgraded rating was shared in a report by Bloomberg, cited by the advisor to the finance minister, Khurram Schehzad in a post on X.
According to the relative rating system used by Barclays coverage analysts, the “overweight” rating means that the stock is expected to outperform the unweighted expected total return of the industry coverage universe over a 12-month investment horizon.
This is in contrast to “equal weight” — wherein the stock is expected to perform in line with this expected return — and “underweight”, in which it is expected to underperform.
“The resilience of Pakistan’s external position cannot be ignored and it underpins the more optimistic view,” the Bloomberg report cited analysts, including Avanti Save, as saying.
It noted that the economy continued to demonstrate stability, noting the country’s improved fiscal position, steadier external buffers, “relatively steady” foreign reserves, and a “moderate growth/inflation picture”.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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