More than 90 per centof overseas companies based in Northern Ireland will cancel proposed new investment if the peace process collapses, according to a survey published today.
With the future of the Assembly uncertain - particularly after MrDavid Trimble's planned resignation, industrialists have warned of the devastating impact a collapsewill have on the economy.
Mr Stephen Kingon, managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), claimed: "If the Assembly cannot be sustained, then neither will a significant level of planned investment."
Mr Trimble is set to quit at midnight on Saturday if the IRA fails to start to disarm.
Business leaders also fear big losses if violence flares at Drumcree and other Orange Order parades next month.
A PwC survey of business advisers claimed a devolved government would be good for business, with almost half of companies claiming the Assembly had directly benefited their trade over the past year.
Nearly 70 per centalso claimed the institutions would deliver direct benefits to business prospects over the next five years.
But the survey warned that over 90 per centof companies will cut proposed investment if the Assembly is suspended or collapses.
A year ago 29 per centof all companies surveyed said they would reduce investment levels, but that had now risen to 88 per centwith between 92 per centand 100 per centwarning investment would be reduced or cancelled completely.
Mr Kingon said political stability was a prerequisite to economic growth and investor confidence. Three times more companies than a year ago said the Assembly's survival would influence their future investment intentions.
PA