BEIJING: Pakistan has reformed to simplify the process of starting a company and obtaining a construction permit, implementing a series of preferential policies in recent years.

These measures improved its ability to attract foreign investment and strengthened the ease of doing business year-by-year, making Pakistan one of the world’s top 10 economies with the most improved business environment, China Economic Net (CEN), quoted the annual report on Investment Security of China’s Belt and Road Construction (2021), which was jointly released by China Belt and Road Think Tank Cooperation Alliance, Beijing International Studies University, and other institutions.

The report puts forward the fruits of research on the political, economic, social, cultural, and ecological investment security in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

In terms of political security, the report said, South Asia as a whole is greatly affected by the superpower game. China, the United States, Russia, Japan, and other countries outside the region have historical ties and practical cooperation here, which makes the geopolitical environment of South Asia complicated.

The long-running conflict between India and Pakistan has also intensified pressures on political security in the region, under which the dispute over Kashmir poses a longstanding risk of war.

From the perspective of economic security, Pakistan’s economic security scores up by 220 per cent in 2019, compared with 2010, showing an overall trend of growth.

The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has greatly boosted public confidence, stimulated domestic demand, and driven production.

However, since 2019, the accelerated marketisation of the domestic exchange rate in Pakistan has led to market fluctuations, currency devaluation, sustained inflation, forcing the government to raise the benchmark interest rate. Besides, the debt burden increased and the international sovereign rating lowered.

As per the social security, Pakistan’s social security is rated at a middle and low level. Constant terrorist attacks in Pakistan have led to social unrest. Violent clashes can halt projects, cause losses and even threaten the safety of workers from the investing countries, undermining the confidence of foreign investors.

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