54% businessmen think PM Shehbaz's govt is "worse for economy"

Over 50 percent businessmen in Pakistan rated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government as worse than the previous government in managing the economy, according to a recent survey.

Gallup Pakistan on Thursday shared a survey report titled: Gallup Business Confidence Index for Quarter II 2024, showing deterioration of confidence in the current and future businesses score. 

“A significant 86% of businesses do not consider the 2024 Budget to be business-friendly, almost 2 in 5 businesses report inflation as the biggest problem faced by them, and 54% think that the new PMLN government is worse than the previous government in managing the economy,” noted the report.

According to the business community, the political turmoil and the budget 2024-25 increased pessimism among them. 

Only 10 percent out of 454 businesses across Pakistan think that their business will be better off in the future. 

“43% in quarter II 2024 said expectations for the future are positive, while 57% expect things to get worse,” the survey stated.

“The Net Future Business Confidence score has decreased by 36% since quarter II 2024,” it added.

The survey report showed that 37 percent businesses want the government to solve the inflation problem, which was cited in both surveys of quarters I &II.

However, the pessimism in trading also led businesses to decrease their workforce by 9 percent in the first quarter. 

“Around 1 in 5 or 22% of businesses reported having to pay a bribe to run their business in the past six months, a decrease of 4% from quarter 1 2024. More manufacturers report having to pay a bribe 25% than service providers 20%."

60 percent people, who own their own businesses, claimed that their sales were worse this year compared to the same period last year.

The report came during the government's attempts to collect taxes from the maximum sectors, including hospital services and salaried class.