South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan does better than India and China in translating GDP growth to citizens' well-being, according to a 2016 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report titled "From Wealth to Well Being" . One particular metric BCG uses is growth-to-well-being coefficient on which Pakistan scores 0.87, higher than India's 0.77 and China's 0.75. Among South Asian nations, Bangladesh scores much higher at 1.03. The top ten countries in “current well-being” remain in Western Europe. The BCG report quotes American economist Simon Kuznets, the creator of the concept of GDP in 1934, who said: "The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from  measurement of national income".  It uses SEDA (sustainable economic development assessment) to score and rank countries. The report uses 5 years worth of GDP growth data up to  2014 and compares it with improvements in citizens' well-being in the same period. On the question of the ability to translate GDP growth to ci

Pakistan's energy consumption grew by 5.7% in 2015, faster than the 5.2% increase in neighboring India that claims significantly faster GDP growth. Primary energy consumption growth in a country is often seen as a strong indicator of its GDP growth. Ever since the advent of the  industrial age , energy has become increasingly important as a driver of farms, factories, communication, transportation, construction, retail and other sectors of the economy.   In addition to energy, other important economic indicators include cement and steel consumption, auto sales and air travel which are also growing significantly faster in Pakistan than in India. Pakistan Primary Energy Consumption Trend (Source: British Petroleum) Primary Energy Consumption: According to  British Petroleum Statistical Review of World Energy  released in June 2016,  the primary energy consumption in Pakistan rose to 78.2 million ton oil equivalent (MTOE) in 2015, compared with 73.2 MTOE in 2014 confirming gr

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will survive Opposition's political challenges emanating from the  Panama Leaks corruption allegations , according to an analysis by Eurasia Group, an international political risk consultancy that bills itself as "the world's largest political risk consultancy". Eurasia Group's clients range from financial institutions to multinational corporations and government agencies. It has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., London, Tokyo, São Paulo, and San Francisco. Coming on the heels of the Eurasia Group report is the  International Monetary Fund (IMF)  upward revision of Pakistan's GDP forecast to 5% for the current fiscal year 2016-17.  Pakistan's ETF (PAK) is up about 15% this year, reflecting MSCI’s recent announcement that it will add the country to the  MSCI Emerging Market index , according to  Barron's , Wall Street Journal's sister publication. In Eurasia Group's analysis of Pakistan, its South As

Two  multinational giants  acquired 2 Pakistani companies in just the last week alone as part of their growth strategy to establish presence in Pakistan. Dutch dairy giant FrieslandCampina acquired 51 % of Karachi-based Engro Foods Limited, the second largest dairy producer in Pakistan. In the same week, Turkey's Arcelik announced purchase of Dawlance, Pakistan's market-leading home appliance maker.  Both cited opportunity for double-digit growth in the emerging market as the main reason for their acquisitions. Pakistan's Emerging Market Upgrade: Earlier in June, Morgan Stanley announced its decision that Pakistan's MSCI shares index will be upgraded from frontier to  emerging market status . Pakistan's Karachi Stock Exchange KSE100 Index has rallied 14% in 2016, making it Asia's best performing market so far this year in anticipation of the MSCI announcement. Pakistan Dairy Market: Pakistan is the third largest milk-manufacturing country in the world,

Who terrorized Dhaka and Istanbul? Why were these cities targeted by terrorists? Is terror spreading farther and wider after recent foreign military interventions to check ISIS in Syria ? Have mistakes by Muslim nations' governments contributed to the growing wave of terror? Can military force alone end it? If not, what else needs to be done? What kind of comprehensive strategy is needed? Why is India suffering from curry and dal crises ? Why are prices of dal, tomatoes. potatoes and other essential foods rising rapidly in India? What is Modi government doing to increase supply and ease rising food inflation in the country? What are its chances of success in short and long term? Why are Pakistani mangoes becoming more easily and widely available in America? Are Pakistan mango exports finally ramping up? What took so long for Pakistani mangoes to arrive in significant quantities in Silicon Valley? Can 6 million strong  Pakistani diaspora 's demand drive greater Pakistani