South Asia Investor Review

Two Pakistani girl students from Karachi have won the first physical science award of $1,500 each at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF 2022) held May 7 through 13 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Ume Kulsoom and Talia Kusloom, the winners from Pakistan, are 12th grade students at Pak-Turk School in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi.  Pakistani Student Participants at ISEF 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Source: Maarif Foundation Ume and Talia Kulsoom topped in the physical science category with their project titled "Vegan Leather Obtained from Cedrus Deodara (deodar tree)", according to an  announcement  by the Society for Science which organized the event. Regeneron ISEF is the world’s largest international science competition held annually. Each year, nearly 1,800 high school students from more than 63 countries participate to showcase their work.   The winning project from Pakistan was completed under the supervision of Hira Bashir, a science teacher at t

Record-high temperatures in Pakistan caused Shisper glacier to melt rapidly, triggering the collapse of the Hassanabad Bridge along the Karakoram Highway last week.  With 7,253 known glaciers, Pakistan is home to more glacial ice than any other country on earth outside the polar regions. If these start melting in increasingly severe heat waves, there could be massive flooding in the country. Pakistan is among the most vulnerable to climate change.  Hasanabad Bridge Collapse in Pakistan India and Pakistan have been hit by a severe heat wave very early this summer.  Jacobabad, a city in Sindh province, hit 122ºF (50ºC) in April, one of the highest April temperatures recorded in the world. Dadu, another city in Sindh, recorded 117ºF (47ºC). "This is the first time in decades that Pakistan is experiencing what many call a 'spring-less year," Pakistan's Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman said in a statement. The consequences of rising temperatures in South Asia coul

The World Health Organization estimates that India had 4.730 million COVID19-related  deaths in 2020-21, nearly a third of 15 million global excess deaths attributed to the pandemic. India is followed by Russia with 1.073 million deaths and Indonesia with 1.03 million deaths. The United States with 933,795 deaths and Brazil with 681,219 deaths round out the top 5 countries that suffered the heaviest losses of life believed to be related to the pandemic. Mexico (625,923 deaths), Peru (289,654 deaths), Turkey (264,279 deaths) Egypt (251,635 deaths) and South Africa (238,893 deaths) are ranked number 6 through 10 in the world for excess deaths in 2020-21 period. Although Pakistan too had 8 times the official figure, it still does not figure in WHO's top 10 list for total number of COVID deaths.  Total Excess Deaths Recorded During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020-21. Source: WHO Excess deaths measure how many more people died than expected compared with previous years. Although it is dif

Pakistan's  Ten Billion Tree Tsunami  project launched in 2014 by the PTI government has sparked a silent olive revolution in the country.  Pakistan, now the 19th member of the International Olive Council , is producing about 1,500 tons of olive oil per year and 830 tons of table olives,  according to  Juan Vilar Strategic Consultants . It is also helping tackle some of the effects of  climate change  such as soil erosion and desertification and bringing new opportunities to farmers. Olive cultivation was started as a pilot project in Potohar region by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's government in 2014. The PTI government promoted it nationwide as a part of Prime Minister Imran Khan's Ten Billion Tree Tsunami initiative to bring about the olive revolution in the country.  Olive Valley, Pakistan Pakistan is the world's third largest  importer of cooking oil . In 2020, Pakistan imported $2.1 billion worth of palm oil, behind only India's $5.1 billion and China&

Pakistan's chief central banker Dr. Reza Baqir's 3-year term saw a broad expansion and modernization of the nation's financial services industry. The impact of Baqir's policies can be seen in multiple sectors including agriculture, housing, manufacturing, exports, financial digitization and record-high  investments in technology startups . Supported by Dr. Baqir's accommodative monetary policy during the  COVID19 pandemic , Pakistan poverty headcount, as measured at the lower-middle-income class line of US$3.20 PPP 2011 per day, declined from 37% in FY2020 to 34% in FY2021, according to the  World Bank's Pakistan Development Update 2022  released this month. The report said Pakistan's real GDP shrank by 1% in FY20, followed by 5.6% growth in FY21.  Pakistan’s economy created 5.5 million jobs during the past three years –on an average 1.84 million jobs a year, which is far higher than yearly average of creation of new jobs during the 2008-18 decade, according

Remittances from the European Union (EU) to Pakistan soared 49.7% in FY 21 and 28.3% in FY22, according to the State Bank of Pakistan. With $2.5 billion remittances in the first 9 months (July-March) of the current fiscal year, the EU ($2.5 billion) has now surpassed North America ($2.2 billion) to become the third largest source of inflows to Pakistan after the Middle East and the United Kingdom. Remittances from the US have grown 21%, second fastest after the EU (28.3%) in the first 9  months of the current fiscal year.  Country-wise Remittance Inflows in Pakistan. Source: State Bank of Pakistan Pakistanis in European Union:  The population of Pakistan-born migrants to European Union countries has been growing in recent years. With over 120,000 Pakistani migrants, Italy is the most popular destination for Pakistanis in the EU.  Italy is followed by Germany with 75,495 Pakistani migrants. Then comes Spain with 61,953 migrants, France 21,900 (2017), Sweden 11,674, Denmark 10,669, Irela