Karachi: Dun & Bradstreet Country Manager Nauman Lakhani on Monday announced the results of the global database and risk management company’s recently released Business Optimism Index — with the survey reporting that local businesses were ‘predominantly optimistic’ regarding Pakistan’s future economic performance, according to a news source.
Depending on responses from 400-500 companies from every sector of the
economy, the survey intends to measure the country’s business prospects.
Large-scale companies comparatively display more optimism than small and medium
enterprises when it comes to projected sales, selling prices, volumes sold,
number of employees, and profits.
The survey also revealed that companies in the services sector have a more
favourable outlook than their counterparts in the manufacturing and trading
sectors. Moreover, taxation, competition, and adverse business regulations are
identified as major obstacles to business growth.
The Business Optimism Index recorded a composite score of 144.6 points, contrasted to the benchmark neutral value of 100 points. This demonstrates a sanguine business attitude as opposed to mixed trends indicated in recently conducted surveys by major trade bodies and polling agencies.
For instance, a survey by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry released earlier this month reported that more than half of the businesses in the country were worried about the unpredictability of monetary and fiscal policies. Whereas, 75 foreign investors participating in the survey expressed their readiness to recommend new Foreign direct investment in Pakistan to their parent companies.
Likewise, a
perception survey undertaken by the American Business Council in December 2019 stated
that 61% of its members believed that the country’s business climate had
deteriorated. A Gallup Pakistan survey held between October and December 2019, also
revealed that 60% of the participants in Punjab, Sindh and the federal capital
believed that the economy was heading in a concerning direction.
