KARACHI: Foreign investors appreciated the improved security environment and expressed satisfaction that the first half of 2017 witnessed an overall reduction in all kinds of crimes, a press release by the Overseas International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) said on Monday.

The annual security survey by the representative body of multinational companies operating in Pakistan recorded positive and better security environment over the period under review.

This became possible only after the launch of operations in Karachi and elsewhere during 2013, the survey said. As a result, the perception of foreign investors improved a lot about the country’s security environment.

There was an overall reduction in street and other crimes, it said. Petty street crimes, such as mobile and cash-snatching, recorded a fall of 69 per cent. High-intensity street crimes, like car-snatching, declined 90pc, it said.

The survey also recorded a steep fall of 94pc in serious crimes, like abductions, hostage-taking and extortion demands, in Lahore, followed by the rest of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (93pc) and Karachi (92pc).

OICCI members reported significant improvement in the confidence and comfort of their staff on security matters, which went up further after an increase of 86pc reported in the previous survey.

More significantly, the survey shows that a higher number of expatriate business visitors travelled to Pakistan in the past one year. Most business-related meetings are now being held within Pakistan, it said, adding that these were conducted in other countries before August 2013 because of security concerns.

About 62pc respondents reported a substantial increase in the number of overseas visitors to Pakistan. Most foreign visitors hosted by OICCI members were from European countries, Middle East, China, Singapore, United States and Japan.

OICCI President Khalid Mansoor said the 2017 survey re-affirms that threats and security concerns have substantially reduced in Pakistan for all key stakeholders of businesses, including OICCI members.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2017