Finance
According to the most recent Gallup Business Confidence Index, business confidence in Pakistan continued to fall in the first three months of 2023, despite multiple economic crises.
“Last year’s political insecurity has carried over to combine with various economic crises and exacerbated business insecurity,” the survey said, according to Dawn news.
The survey’s Wave-9 is based on interviews with approximately 520 business owners conducted across Pakistan in the first quarter of 2023.
The exercise had three broad strands: the current business situation, the future business situation, and the country’s direction. In each of the three strands, index values fell to an all-time low on a quarterly basis.
Two-thirds of the businesses polled reported that business conditions were as bad or worse than before. Dawn reported a 7% increase in the number of businesses reporting “very bad” business conditions.
The Current Business Situation Score fell one percentage point from the previous quarter to -32 percent.
The proportion of businesses expecting to be worse off in the future increased by 7% from the previous quarter.
Approximately 61% of businesses said their future expectations were “negative,” with only 38% expecting the situation to improve.
On a quarterly basis, the Future Business Confidence Score fell 11 percentage points to -22 percent.
In January-March, business perceptions of the country’s direction deteriorated from -75% to -79%, with as many as 90% of businesses believing the country was heading in the wrong direction, according to Dawn.
Inflation remained the “most-cited problem” that most businesses (45%) want the government to address.
When compared to the previous quarter, more businesses wanted the government to “help with currency depreciation,” even though fewer of the same respondents thought the government should lower utility prices.
Source:IANS
