Business confidence in Pakistan improved despite challenges: Survey

ISLAMABAD: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) released the results of its Business Confidence Index (BCI) Survey for October and November 2024.

The survey revealed a notable improvement in business confidence in Pakistan, with a 9 percent increase compared to the March-April 2024 survey. The Business Confidence Index has improved from -14 to -5 percent.

According to the OICCI, the positive economic growth, stable exchange rate, and significant decrease in inflation are key factors contributing to the improvement in business confidence.

The services sector has seen the most significant improvement in business confidence, followed by the manufacturing sector, which has seen its confidence level improve from -15 to -3 percent. The retail and wholesale sector, however, has seen a decline in confidence, with its index falling from -15 to -18 percent.

Earlier, the OICCI revealed that business confidence in Pakistan improved by 4%, but remained in the negative, according to 25th Wave of the Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey.

The survey was conducted across Pakistan during March-April 2024.

According to the OICCI, the BCI has shown some positive signs of economic recovery, rising to negative 14% in March-April 2024 from negative 18% in the previous survey