The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has unveiled results of its latest Business Confidence Index (BCI) Survey – Wave 27, revealing a major shift in sentiment with overall business confidence rising by 16 percentage points. Conducted across Pakistan during March and April 2025, the BCI moved from -5% in Wave 26 to a positive 11%, signaling renewed optimism among business leaders.
Read More: Mari Energies Discovers Gas at Soho-1 Well in Sindh’s Sujawal Block
This sharp recovery in confidence is attributed to macroeconomic stability, declining inflation, and anticipated improvements in the business climate over the next six months. The manufacturing sector led the turnaround, increasing from -3% to +15%, followed by the retail/wholesale sector rising from -18% to +2%, and the services sector advancing from +2% to +10%.
“The uptick in business confidence is a clear sign that our economic direction is on the right track. We are focused on creating a conducive environment for investment, supporting private sector growth, and ensuring long-term macroeconomic resilience. The improved sentiment among businesses is both encouraging and a validation of our collective efforts,” said Yousaf Hussain, President of OICCI, quoting Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb during a recent meeting.
Despite the encouraging results, respondents continued to highlight pressing challenges such as inflation (80%), taxation (80%), inconsistent government policies (67%), rupee devaluation (66%), corruption (54%), and security threats/street crime (51%).
“Over the past two years, overall business confidence has shown a notable improvement across the business community. This sharp recovery in the Business Confidence in the latest Wave 27 reflects the resilience of Pakistan’s business sector and its readiness to seize emerging growth opportunities. It is heartening to see positive momentum across key sectors, which reflects improved sentiment and growing trust in the country’s economic direction. To maintain this growing positivity in the business confidence,” Yousaf Hussain said, adding, “there must be greater policy consistency, transparency and active engagement with the key stakeholders including OICCI members.”
Looking ahead, 45% of survey respondents expressed positive expectations for the next six months, driven by hopes for continued economic growth, better government policies, improved investment climate, and enhanced security.
Although 53% still reported negative business conditions over the past six months, this is a substantial improvement from 66% in Wave 26. Concerns remain around political stability, currency parity, energy supply, and trade policy.
Foreign investors surveyed — OICCI members — showed a notable improvement in sentiment, with confidence rising from +6% to +17%. This boost is credited to a better global business climate, stronger local industry performance, and anticipated capital investment in the coming months.
Abdul Aleem, Chief Executive/Secretary General of OICCI, added, “Employment prospects, expansion plans, and investment expectations demonstrated notable gains, particularly in the manufacturing and retail sectors.”
He also cautioned, “New investment plans overall showed an improvement of 19 percent, but remained negative, which is an area of concern and needs to be addressed to further accelerate economic growth, energize Large Scale Manufacturing, trade and export.”
The BCI survey is conducted twice annually and captures sentiments from key business sectors including manufacturing, services, and retail/wholesale, representing nearly 80% of Pakistan’s GDP. Responses are gathered face-to-face across major commercial cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and Faisalabad, offering a comprehensive snapshot of national economic sentiment.
For full survey insights, visit the official OICCI website at https://www.oicci.org.
