South Asia Investor Review

Speaking at a recent Delhi investment conference, Managing Director and Chief Strategist Christopher Wood of CLSA (formerly known as Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia) surprised everyone, by saying that he loves the Pakistan stock market more than any other in Asia, according to  Indian media reports . Wood, based in Hong Kong, has been named as the "best strategist" in Asia several times by magazines such as Asiamoney and Institutional Investor. Christopher Wood of CLSA in New Delhi, India Strong Recovery: After recently visiting Pakistan for the first time,Wood wrote that Pakistan faces some short-term issues  but its "economy can recover quickly from its latest crisis once the current hole in the balance of payments is plugged, as is likely to be the case by a combination of China and IMF funding, combined with some extra support provided by Saudi Arabia". Exports as Percentage of GDP. Source: CLSA Wood explained  that "minimal (private sector) d...

Nomura Securities strategists believe Malaysia, Japan and  Pakistan  are expected to be the top 3 beneficiaries of import substitution triggered by US-China trade war escalation. Nomura's analysis is based on detailed study of 7,705 items which will be subject to tariffs and counter tariffs by US and China if the stand-off continues. Nomura developed two indices as part of its research on the subject: NISI (Nomura Import Substitution Index) and NPRI (Nomura Production Relocation Index). Source: Nomura Securities The two economic rivals have announced a series of tit-for-tat tariffs on imports in recent months with US set to increase tariffs to 25% on a range of Chinese products in January, unless the two sides reach a trade deal. Nomura research shows the US list affects 3,477 products imported by US from China valued at $270 billion. Product categories affected are in electrical equipment, appliances and components (29%), machinery and mechanical appliances (22.7%) a...

Pakistani author-journalist Raza Ahmad Rumi recently visited San Francisco Bay Area as part of his book tour to promote his latest book "Being Pakistani: Society, Culture and The Arts". Raza had three speaking engagements in the Bay Area: (1) At the World Affairs Council in San Francisco on Wednesday November 14, 2018, (2) Institute of South Asia Studies at University of California at Berkeley on Thursday November 15, 2018, and (3) Pakistani-American Community Center in S ilicon Valley , CA on Friday November 16, 2018. The Silicon Valley event with Raza Rumi was organized by  Talk4Pak.com , a media platform to connect Pakistani-Americans with Pakistan, at the Pakistani-American Community Center (PACC) in Milpitas, CA. Raza was introduced by Riaz Haq at the PACC. Raza is a alumnus of London School of Economics. He has passed Pakistan Civil Service exam and served in senior positions in Pakistan government. He has also worked as a consultant at the Manila-based Asia...

Pakistan's consumption of oil and gas has rapidly grown over the last 5 years, an indication of the nation's accelerating economic growth. Pakistan is among the fastest growing LNG markets , according to  Shell 2017 LNG report . Pakistan Oil Consumption in Barrels Per Day. Source: CEIC.com Oil consumption in Pakistan has shot up about 50% from 400,000 barrels per day in 2012 to nearly 600,000 barrels per day in 2017. During the same period, Pakistan's gas consumption has risen from 3.5 billion cubic feet per day to nearly 4 billion cubic feet per day, according to British Petroleum data . Pakistan is among the fastest growing LNG markets, according to  Shell 2017 LNG report .  The country has suffered a crippling energy shortage in recent years as demand has risen sharply to over 6 billion cubic feet per day,  far outstripping the domestic production of about 4 billion cubic feet per day. Recent LNG imports are beginning to make a dent in Pakistan's ong...

Pakistan's quality-adjusted scientific output (Weighted Functional Count) as reported in Nature Index has doubled from  18.03 in 2013  to 37.28 in 2017. Pakistan's global ranking has improved from 53 in 2013 to 40 in 2017. In the same period, India's WFC has increased from 850.97 in 2013 to 935.44 in 2017. India's global ranking has improved from 13 in 2013 to 11 in 2017. Top 10 Pakistan Institutions in Scientific Output. Source: Nature Index Pakistan's Global Ranking: Pakistan ranks 40 among 161 countries for quality adjusted scientific output for year 2017 as reported by  Nature Index 2018 .  Pakistan ranks 40 with quality-adjusted scientific output of 37.28. India ranks 11 with 935. Malaysia ranks 61 with 6.73 and Indonesia ranks 63 with 6.41. Bangladesh ranks 100 with 0.81. Sri Lanka ranks 84 with 1.36. US leads with almost 15,800, followed by China's 7,500, Germany 3,800, UK 3,100 and Japan 2,700. Nature Index: The Nature Index is a database of ...

Pakistan  consumer confidence index  reached an all-time high of 115 in Q2/2018, up 8 points from 107 in Q1/2018, according to latest  The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey (TCB-Global) . Pakistan now ranks 9th in the world. Pakistan's neighbor India's consumer confidence was measured at 124, down 6 points from prior quarter. India ranks 3rd in the world. Global Consumer Confidence Ranking. Source:  Nielsen Here's an excerpt of the TCB-Global report on Pakistan: "In Pakistan, consumer confidence has reached an all-time high of 115, following an 8-point increase. Consumers in Pakistan are increasingly optimistic about job prospects and their personal financial situation. However, it is uncertain whether the high level of confidence can be sustained in the future. Pakistan’s new government is likely to approach IMF for assistance to address the country’s  worsening external balance , which might lead to significant fiscal and monetary ...

A recent Dartmouth study by three researchers has reported that "Muslims (in India) now have considerably worse upward mobility (29) today than both Scheduled Castes (37.4–37.8) and Scheduled Tribes (32.5–32.7). The comparable figure for African Americans is 34." The research paper titled " Intergenerational Mobility in India : Estimates from New Methods and Administrative Data" says that "higher caste groups (in India) have experienced constant and high upward mobility over time, a result that contradicts a popular notion that it is increasingly difficult for higher caste Hindus to get ahead". Dartmouth researchers' analysis focuses on two mobility measures: (i) the expected outcome of a child born into the bottom half of the parent outcome distribution (upward interval mobility, henceforth referred to as upward mobility); and (ii) the expected outcome of a child born into the top half of the parent distribution (downward interval mobility). I...