New Delhi: As Procter & Gamble became the latest multinational firm to exit Pakistan, many people in the country expressed their fear, saying the country may soon face shortages of even essential items like soap. Some even asked, “@grok how many international companies have left Pakistan since April 2022?”
Many have expressed concern over rising unemployment and the growing difficulty in accessing daily essentials.
“I’ve always used the Gillette Blue 3 razor for shaving, but for the past three months I haven’t been able to find the Gillette Blue 3 Sensitive version in the market (Islamabad),” wrote Javed Iqbal.
Citing the reasons behind Procter & Gamble’s decision to discontinue its business in Pakistan, Saad Amanullah Khan, former CEO of Gillette Pakistan, told Bloomberg in an interview that “high power costs, weak infrastructure, and regulatory pressures are the main factors of this.”
“Pakistan is no longer suitable for either white or blue-collar jobs. There is massive unemployment. I don’t think we even have accurate data to describe it,” posted Saad, another user on X.
Procter & Gamble Co. has officially announced that it will wind down its business operations in Pakistan, just months after the company began a global restructuring programme. The company will stop its manufacturing and commercial activities in Pakistan and rely on third-party distributors to continue to serve the customers in Pakistan.
“Some of our biggest local firms have shut down & a string of multinationals are exiting Pakistan. Rising costs, taxes, forex crunch & clueless policies are strangling business. What more can one expect from this short-sighted puppet government?” posted Sayed Z Bukhari, who claims to be an advisor to Imran Khan on international affairs and international media. His cover image is also with Imran Khan.
Currency collapse & other reasons
Some of the major companies that have left Pakistan in recent years include Shell, Pfizer Pakistan, TotalEnergies, Telenor ASA, Careem, Eli Lilly, and Viatris.
While some Pakistanis have made light of these exits, others are increasingly concerned about the country’s deteriorating economic environment. Many have tried to decode the reasons behind this growing trend of multinational companies leaving the Pakistani market.
“The reasons are clear: Currency collapse and profit repatriation hurdles, political chaos and policy inconsistency, heavy taxation and surging energy costs, regulatory red tape and drug approval delays,” wrote politician Haleem Adil Sheikh, explaining why these multinationals are exiting Pakistan.
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“Yet our so-called ‘patriotic leaders’ do nothing, except suck the blood of local business and industry,” he added.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) offers a wide range of consumer products across several categories, including Baby, Feminine & Family Care (Pampers, Always), Fabric & Home Care (Tide, Febreze), Grooming (Gillette), Hair Care (Head & Shoulders, Pantene Shampoo), Oral Care (Crest, Oral-B), Personal Health Care (Vicks, Metamucil).
“Pakistan’s ecosystem is now full of perverse incentives that drive away investment. Why would anyone invest here when even long-established foreign companies are exiting in droves? Local companies are also shutting down or liquidating,” posted another user on X.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)