Pakistan’s Business Optimism Index (BOI) for Q3 2021 is the highest since2019 and has continued to showcase substantial growth for the precedingthree quarters, indicating a favorable outlook for the business community.
According to Dun & Bradstreet’s ‘Business Optimism Index’ report, businesssentiment among local firms in Q3 2021 rebounded to pre-COVID-19 levels,mainly on account of a reduction in overall infection cases in the countrydue to increased vaccination rates.
The BOI registered 154.2 points in Q3, 2021 compared to 152.1 points in Q2,2021, indicating an increase of 1.4% quarter-on-quarter. The BOI for Q3,2021 is the highest since Q4, 2019, indicating an improvement of 5.3% inoptimism in comparison to the corresponding period last year.
Large companies’ index increased to 162.5 in Q3, 2021 from 153.6 in Q2,2021. In comparison, SMEs’ index declined to 141.9 in Q3, 2021, from 150.0in Q2, 2021. This highlights that Large companies are more optimistic aboutthe future compared to SMEs likely due to greater sustaining power duringlockdown restrictions.
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Exporters’ optimism declined by 1.6% in the current quarter after anincrease in the last quarter, in line with the decline in SME optimism asSMEs made up about 70% of exporters in the survey.
The trading sector is most optimistic about the upcoming quarter with a BOIof 160.9, while the Manufacturing Sector is the only sector to decline,with a BOI of 147.0. While there is higher optimism regarding Sales Revenueand Sales Volumes, optimism is relatively muted for Selling Price,indicating a likely price-sensitive and competitive market. On a quarterlybasis, the index for the Trading sector exhibits the largest improvement of13.4 points (9.1%) over the last quarter.
