Afghanistan's economy could shrink by as much as 20 per cent this year and its currency may slide further than it already has following the Taliban's takeover, Fitch Solutions said on Friday.

       "It is likely that the economy will contract sharply this year," Anwita Basu, head of Asia Country Risk at Fitch Solutions - the analysis and research arm of Fitch Group - told Reuters. "Countries facing similar circumstances like Myanmar and Syria have seen their GDPs collapse by around 10-20%, which can't be ruled out for Afghanistan too."

       (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)