Among foreign investors: Survey reveals perception on security situation positive

Says country’s law and order has improved in recent months.

KARACHI: A recent survey showed a positive perception on security-related matters among leading foreign investors in Pakistan, especially after the launch of Pakistan Army’s Zarb-Azb and Rangers-led operation in Karachi.

The survey was conducted among members of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI). The overall survey results were generally quite positive and revealed that the security environment had improved significantly during the period covered in the survey, January 1, 2014 to April 2015, as compared to the corresponding period for 2012-13.

The survey reveals that nearly three-fourths of the respondents experienced a reduction in security incidents and their staff now feels more comfortable in their everyday commute to/from the workplace. Similarly, 68% of the respondents revealed that more overseas/expat visitors, including technical and professional staff, came to Pakistan between January 2014 and April 2015 as compared to 2012-13 data. Moreover, only a small fraction of Board and management meetings were held outside Pakistan.

The above results are being considered a positive sign from the foreign investors to various initiatives taken by the government to tackle the serious security situation which had arisen in recent years.

It is worth mentioning that poor security and law and order issues have been amongst the major challenges which have negatively impacted many aspects of the country’s economic activities. This includes a drastic fall in FDI inflow into the country, increase in cost of doing business due to large outlays on security related matters and the brain drain as a result of talented people fleeing the country.

The need for a robust security environment will be even more critical in the coming months as a large number of expat workers and technical staff will soon be coming to Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2015.

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