The business confidence index is a survey that measures the confidence and expectations of the businesses regarding future economic conditions, growth potential and, predicted changes. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, in its first quarterly report of the year 2021, business confidence has returned and economic activity is back on track. It is expected that macroeconomic stabilization measures and other structural reforms have helped the economy to move towards a higher growth trajectory.
Different international and national financial institutions gave their predictions regarding the state of Pakistan’s economic growth. Institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Moody’s, and even the @Ministry of Finance predicted a modest growth rate of about 1.5-2%. However, the country recorded a growth rate of 4% which was higher than all anticipated growth rates. This gave a boost to local and international businesses and investors thereby improving Pakistan’s performance on the index.
The only major concern highlighted by the index was the loss of jobs and employment incurred during the lockdowns. However, since unemployment is a lagging macroeconomic indicator, it is anticipated that the achieved growth can help Pakistan overcome the heightened levels of unemployment.
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