SWOT of Pakistan Economy

Strengths:

 Economic climate
The Pakistan economy has undergone a great deal of change as a direct result of the government’s
support for the ‘War on Terrorism’. The economic fundamentals of the country had been steadily
improving post September 11, earning support from the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank. The current high tension with India is placing the economy under pressure but the longer
term impact is, at this stage, difficult to assess.

 Agriculture and textile

Pakistan’s economic strengths have traditionally come from agricultural products, with important
cash crops being citrus, rice and cotton. Textiles continue to be another important sector of the
economy.

 Australia as supplier
There are well-defined sectors or niches where Australia has been a consistent supplier. These
include food, commodities, education services and other industries offering significant potential,
especially health, telecommunication, technical assistance, and oil and gas.

 Trade relations
Pakistan’s trade and political relationships are mainly focused on its regional neighbor, such as Saudi
Arabia and the People’s Republic of China.

Pakistan is a member of the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which has
trade issues as a significant component of its overall agenda. While there has been some talk of
creating a free trade area within SAARC, this has not gained any real momentum.

Australia enjoys a good relationship with Pakistan. The removal of sanctions by the Australian
Government has obviously assisted the relationship overall, although trade continues to be little
affected by the ups and downs in the political relationship.

 Foreign Direct Investments in Pakistan

The main sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan are no longer the United States and
the World Bank. Today, Pakistan’s largest source of FDI is the 5 to 7 million Pakistanis living abroad,
who have injected approximately $6 billion into Pakistan via formal investment channels. The
second largest source of investment in Pakistan’s economy includes donors from the Middle East,
especially in the form of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) from Dubai and Saudi Arabia
 Pakistan offers a lot of business opportunities
Leading business leaders from multinational and national companies, business analysts, think tanks
and representatives from funding agencies deliberated on ways and means to foster economic
activities. Pakistan offered many opportunities, as it was a fast growing consumer market which was
larger than the population of several European countries combined, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium,
France, Turkey, and Malaysia.

Weaknesses:

 Over Population, unemployment and Poverty

 Investment

 Growing debt burden

 Decline in private sector investment

 Decline in Savings

 Corruption

 No proper implementation of policies

 No proper check and balance system

 No utilization of natural resources

 No utilization of loans and debt for productive purposes

 No Human Resource Development

Opportunities

 Can generate excessive revenue from tourism

 An investment spot at GWADAR

 Can fulfill the need of energy by utilizing coal resources

 Revenue from Forests by wood work

 Tax free zones

 Our education system can become a great source of revenue

 Our textile industry and agriculture sector

Threats

 Terrorism

 Bad law and Order situation

 NRO

 Kerry logger bill

 Dictatorship