South Asia Investor Review

With the expansion of the  internet access  in rural areas, several local language AI applications have recently been launched for downloads by farmers in Pakistan. These apps help with crop planning, soil sensing, personalized fertilizer recommendations, disease diagnoses, weather forecasts and market prices. A couple of these have been downloaded by half a million or more farmers in the country. Some of these apps use open source large language models ( LLMs ) like  DeepSeek  and Llama, while others are based on frontier models such as Claude and ChatGPT.  Top AI Apps for Pakistani Farmers Some of these are voice-first  AI apps  and bots which help farmers with low literacy or digital familiarity to access real-time farming guidance in local languages. For example, Kissan Dost Bashir offered by Telenor Pakistan features a conversational AI voice bot available 24/7 via IVR (interactive voice response) by dialing 7272 or through the 7272.pk portal on t...

Pakistan military is significantly outmanned and outgunned by Prime Minister Modi's massive war machine, which Indian Hindu Nationalist leadership continues to threaten to unleash against its neighbor to the west. Using the false pretext of "cross-border terrorism", it has already been used twice against Pakistan since Modi's election to the highest office in 2014. At the same time, the Modi government has stepped up it covert support of terrorist groups, including the TTP and the BLA, to attack Pakistan. In response, Pakistan is modernizing its conventional forces to deter the much larger enemy to the east. Key new capabilities include Pakistan's new conventional rocket force, a large number of self-propelled howitzers, an expanded  drone fleet , induction of the first of eight new Hangor Class stealthy  submarines , launching of 6 spy/communications satellites and deployment of a modern multi-layered air defense system.  Pakistan's Conventional Deterrence Ca...

India's Tata Group is going through a major boardroom crisis. Noel Tata, the Chairman of the Tata holding company, has been removed from the Tata Group's board by N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons. Noel Tata has declared the decision illegal, a stance the board disputes. The crisis has been precipitated by a 2022 decision by India’s central bank to order the company to seek a stock market listing for Tata Sons, to comply with new rules governing systemically important investment firms. Tata Sons is considered an investment firm because it holds stakes in Tata subsidiaries and can inject capital into them. Noel Tata, who heads the bloc of charities that owns two-thirds of Tata Sons, vehemently opposes a listing. Ratan and Noel Tata India's Tata Group is known for its deep philanthropic engagement in the country. Tata patriarch Jamsetji Tata, who laid the foundations of large-scale steel manufacturing in colonial-era India about a century ago, created trusts that would...

The summit meeting of the leaders of China and the United States in Washington appears to signal a rapprochement between the two superpowers.  President Trump has repeatedly referred to what he calls "G2", without mentioning "G7" or "G20", the groups that include many more countries. This development is seen as positive for world peace but it diminishes India's significance as a "counterweight to China" and the benefits Indians expected to flow from the US-China confrontation in Asia.  President Trump Personally Welcomed President Xi at Andrews Air Force Base The fact that President Trump personally received President Xi at Andrews Air Force Base upon his arrival is yet another indication that the US now recognizes China as a peer competitor. President Xi, for his part, has talked about the need for the two superpowers to avoid the "Thucydides Trap", a reference to the potential for war between an established superpower and a rising...

Like many other countries, Pakistan has a geographic digital divide. Residents of remote areas of the country have significantly lower access to the Internet than those in the urban centers. While the mobile internet usage in the urban areas has reached 65%, only 50% of those living in rural areas have access to it, according to a recent GSMA report titled "State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2026".  Digital Connectivity in Rural Pakistan To bridge this rural-urban digital divide, Pakistan government is expanding telecom and high-speed internet services in remote and rural areas through the proposed National Connectivity Plan, satellite broadband integration, and multi-billion-rupee Universal Service Fund (USF) projects. Fiber optic cables and satellites will provide backhaul high-capacity communication link to solar-powered 4G/5G cell towers in rural communities.  Solar power is being used to bridge the digital divide in the country by providing reliable off-grid electrici...

Pakistani auto industry, currently dominated by Japanese automakers building ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, is expected to be transformed with the arrival of Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV) manufacturers. Beyond Your Dreams (BYD), Chang'an, Great Wall Motors (GWM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) are planning to build plants in Pakistan.  Coming on the heels of the ongoing  solar revolution  in the country, these new EV entrants are helping accelerate Pakistan's  transition to clean energy.   These auto plants also create an opportunity for Pakistan to become a significant exporter of electric vehicles to developing nations.  BYD EV. Source: CNBC BYD, operating in Pakistan through a partnership with Mega Motor Company (a subsidiary of Hubco), has started building a $150 million assembly plant in Gharo, Sindh. Its initial target is to produce 25,000 units annually, with the capacity to scale up to 50,000 units a year. It...