According to a survey of the Business Confidence Index, the overall business confidence in the country has improved during the last eight months due to what is believed — improved security and a stable macroeconomic situation. The survey, sponsored by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reveals that the confidence of doing business of the overseas investors in the country has improved by four points during the last eight months. An improvement has been recorded in all sectors with 10 percent growth in retail sector which has jumped from 15 percent to 25 percent. The services and manufacturing sectors have shown an increase of three percent and two percent, respectively. Though the survey shows an increase in overall business sentiment over the last eight months, unfortunately, the confidence level of major foreign investors have declined by seven percent apparently due to imposition of a new super tax and long delays in the tax refund claims. The previous survey was conducted in April 2015 in which the overall business confidence stood at positive 18 percent, showing a significant improvement of 17 percent as compared to the survey conducted in September 2014 which was just 1 percent positive.
According to the OICCI chief, the government’s resolve to maintain law and order in Karachi and elsewhere in the country as well as steps to improve energy supply have pushed the graph of business confidence upward. Besides, low inflation, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, and a stable political environment have also helped boost the business confidence in the country. The survey depicts improved sentiments in manufacturing and services sectors from 31 percent to 34 percent and 11 percent to 13 percent, respectively, thanks to higher household spending as a result of lower inflation. The survey points out increasing cost of production and shortage of energy as the biggest stumbling blocks in the way of industrial growth. The security situation has remarkably improved, but still the government has to do more.
The real estate sector has emerged as one of the leading sectors in the country, showing an increase of 68 percent, followed by tobacco 38 percent, transport and communication by 37 percent, petroleum by 32 percent while chemicals and finance by 31 each.The textile showed bleak performance, ditched by negative 15 percent. The government is still in the process of negotiation with traders on the issue of withholding tax on bank transactions. It is time to create opportunities to generate funds and not to create hurdles to lose the money potentially available in the national kitty.
