Pakistan’s business environment is showing renewed strength as the latest survey by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals a sharp improvement in investor sentiment, with overall confidence doubling within just six months. The new findings highlight a decisive shift in outlook among both foreign and local investors, signalling growing trust in economic direction, regulatory stability, and future growth prospects across multiple sectors of the economy.
According to the latest Business Confidence Index, overall confidence has risen to 22 percent, up from 11 percent in the previous survey period. The services sector recorded the strongest turnaround, with confidence jumping to 34 percent from 10 percent, marking a substantial rise of 24 percentage points and reaching its highest level since 2017. Retail and wholesale businesses also recorded significant improvement, with sentiment rising to 17 percent from just 2 percent. Manufacturing remained strong and stable at 37 percent, slightly up from 36 percent, underlining consistent performance in the industrial segment.
The positive trend is visible across geographic regions as well. In metropolitan areas, business confidence climbed to 23 percent from 14 percent, while non-metropolitan regions showed an even stronger rebound, rising to 19 percent after a jump of 22 percentage points. This indicates that economic momentum is not limited to major urban centres and is increasingly spreading across secondary cities and regional business hubs.
Looking ahead, businesses appear highly optimistic about the near-term outlook. Fifty-four percent of surveyed companies expect further improvement in the next six months, up from 45 percent previously. Growth indicators within corporate activity also show strengthening trends. Intentions to place new orders and expand operations increased to 41 percent from 26 percent, while new investment plans turned positive at 12 percent after previously standing at negative four percent. Job creation outlook improved as well, with expectations rising to 16 percent from 13 percent, reflecting growing confidence in workforce expansion and long-term planning.
Foreign investors are leading this wave of optimism. Confidence among OICCI member companies rose to 27 percent from 17 percent, with global outlook indicators showing a sharp rise to 49 percent from 21 percent. City-level business sentiment increased to 37 percent from 21 percent, company-level outlook strengthened to 46 percent from 29 percent, and expectations around return on investment improved to 39 percent from 22 percent, showing that international investors view Pakistan as a more stable and attractive market than earlier in the year.
Several structural and macroeconomic factors are contributing to this rise in confidence. Businesses cited stronger macroeconomic stability, steadier foreign exchange conditions, improved law and order, better policy consistency, and a more favourable investment climate. Improvements in the energy sector and a better global perception of Pakistan’s economic direction also played a key role in strengthening business sentiment.
An additional highlight from the survey is the growing momentum around innovation and technology adoption. About 43 percent of OICCI member companies have already started using generative artificial intelligence tools in their operations, and 81 percent expect significant functional adoption of AI in the near future. This trend reflects a shift toward digital efficiency and smarter business processes as companies prepare for a more competitive regional and global environment.
Overall, the survey paints a picture of an economy moving from recovery into early-stage expansion, with falling pessimism and strong leadership from existing foreign investors signaling a more confident business landscape across Pakistan.
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