South Asia Investor Review

International Communications Union has ranked Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) among top 5 regulators in Asia Pacific region.  Pakistan's ICT regulations are 4th generation (G4), more advanced than India's and Bangladesh's 3rd generation (G3) regulations, according to the ITU report titled “Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2020 (GIRO)”. Only 8% states have managed to achieve G4 status of the 38 economies ranked in Asia-Pacific region. G4 regulations address both economic and social goals.  Among the key policy goals are  financial inclusion  and  digital inclusion . Telecom Regulators Grouped in 4 Generations. Source: ITU Pakistan's ICT regulations are ranked 4th in Asia Pacific, ahead of Malaysia's ranked 5 but behind Singapore's ranked 1, Japan's ranked 2 and Australia's ranked 3.  Pakistan scores 88 and ranks 48th in the world among 193 countries. The report uses 50 indicators organized across four pillars: regulatory authority, regulat...

A study by researchers at a Singapore University predicts that the current  coronavirus pandemic  will end in the months of May and June. Specifically, the researchers forecast that 97% of the pandemic will end around May 11 in the United States, May 21 in India and June 8 in Pakistan. Pakistan Coronavirus Case Curve. Source: Singapore University Singapore Pandemic Model: The authors of the  Singapore study  argue that, like other past pandemics, the current covid19 pandemic will follow a bell curve, essentially "a life cycle pattern from the outbreak to the acceleration phase, inflection point, deacceleration phase and eventual stop or ending". Here's an excerpt of the Singapore paper published by Jianxi Luo: "Such a life cycle is the result of the adaptive and countering behaviours of agents including individuals (avoiding physical contact) and governments (locking down cities) as well as the natural limitations of the ecosystem. However, the pandemic lif...

Covid19  pandemic  has brought the world to its knees. It has humbled some of the most powerful nations on earth. It has paralyzed the global economy. It is believed to have started in China, the newest superpower. Coronavirus has so far  infected  nearly 3 million people globally. It has ravaged the United States, the reigning superpower, as well as its rich and powerful allies in Western Europe.  The United States leads the world with a million infections so far and over 50,000 deaths. It has not spared developing nations like Iran and Turkey either. And it is now threatening to spread to the rest of the developing world in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Coronavirus has so far infected nearly 12,000 and killed 253 people in  Pakistan . This pandemic is a reminder to all that lethal pathogens are a huge common threat to all of humanity. Recently, I participated in a wide ranging discussion on coronavirus’ origins, impact, conspiracy theories, ...

Pakistan Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM/HIES) of 2018-19 has revealed that the incomes of the  poorest Pakistanis  are rising much faster than the those of their richest counterparts. The  survey  measures changes in incomes, expenditures and living standards of the population by quintiles on a periodic basis. The survey provides detailed outcome indicators on education, health, population welfare, housing, water sanitation and hygiene, information communication and technology (ICT), food insecurity experience scale (FIES) and income and expenditure. Average Monthly Income Growth By Quintiles. Courtesy: Bilal Gilani of Gallup Pakistan PSLM/HIES 2018-19 compares incomes with those reported in PSLM/HIES 2015-16.  It shows that the average household monthly income in Pakistan has jumped 16.5% to Rs. 41,545.  It also shows that the average monthly income of the lowest quintile (Q1) in Pakistan rose 17.5% and that of the second lowest quintile ...

Internet traffic in Pakistan has surged 15% amid  COVID-19  lockdown, according to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA). This spike has occurred in spite the fact that  Netflix  and YouTube have reduced their bandwidth requirements during the current health crisis. Netflix says it has cut its bandwidth use by 25% without sacrificing quality.  Google's  YouTube  video platform has decided to temporarily change the quality of all videos on YouTube to standard definition.The increased traffic is mainly due to people working from homes. Pakistan has nearly  80 million  broadband subscribers  as of now. PTA: In an  announcement  on March 26, 2019, PTA reported "net increase of around 15% in internet usage was witnessed since last week as the country fights against Coronavirus". PTA went on to assure users that "there is sufficient internet capacity available in the country to meet the growing demands of the future". T...

Preliminary results of a US Government study reveal that the sunlight quickly destroys COVID19, the novel coronavirus. The study found that the risk of “transmission from surfaces outdoors is lower during daylight” and under higher temperature and humidity conditions, according to Yahoo News. This latest work reinforces the conclusions of  "Will Coronavirus Pandemic Diminish by Summer?" , a recent paper written jointly by Pakistani and Indian researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ultraviolet (UV) light, a component of sunlight, has long been known to be an effective disinfectant. Homeland Security Study:  The  study by US Department of Homeland Security  scientists concludes that “sunlight destroys the virus quickly” but it also warns that enclosed areas with low humidity, such as airplane cabins, “may require additional care to minimize risk of transmission. ”Simulated sunlight “rapidly killed the virus in aerosols,” the study says, while with...

East-West infrastructure projects in Pakistan pose unique challenges. Sending hundreds of cusecs of water up more than a mile from the River Indus to Balochistan via Kachhi canal is one of these challenges. Another challenge is to improve and expand national east-west highways like N-70.  These recently completed infrastructure projects linking South Punjab with Balochistan will  boost  agriculture  and  transportation  sectors and bring economic benefits to Pakistanis living in the country's  least developed areas . Kachhi Canal Project:  Recently  completed  400 kilometers in phase 1 of 500 kilometer long Kachhi Canal is now the longest irrigation canal in Pakistan.  It stretches from the plains of South Punjab to the heights of eastern Balochistan where it will eventually irrigate over 700,000 acres of arid land, according to  WAPDA  (Water and Power Development Authority). Kachhi Canal Pakistan Part of Kachh...

Can Pakistan's  88% BCG vaccination rate  against tuberculosis (TB) help reduce the impact of coronavirus? A New York Institute of Technology study using data from 178 countries has concluded that both the incidence and mortality of  COVID-19   are significantly lower in countries with BCG vaccination programs against TB. Will this study help prove  Dawn News' alarming forecast  of over 2 million confirmed cases by June 1 and 20 million actual infections wrong? Pakistan's Dawn News Coronavirus Forecast The study has found that the coronavirus has hit US and Italy which do not have universal BCG vaccination programs much harder than countries like Japan which do.  Scientists say it will take several months to get results from ongoing trials testing the BCG vaccine against COVID-19. TB Vaccine May Lower Death Rates From COVID-19. Source: NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine   Scientists have speculated that BCG vaccine may bo...

I have just learned that a close  Pakistani-American  friend of mine in  Silicon Valley  is recovering from the  disease caused by COVID-19 . He’s a 66 years old man. His age and gender put him in a relatively high-risk category for coronavirus infection. When he took his elderly mother to a local emergency room in early March, he had only one face mask which he gave to her. He thinks he may have been infected in the emergency room or during one of his multiple visits to two family members in local hospitals in the weeks leading up to his illness.  He is a man of deep faith. He bathed as required for ihram, the ritual Islamic purification during pilgrimage to Mecca, before going to the hospital. He said he was mentally prepared to die even before getting confirmation of his illness from the novel coronavirus. He was driven by one of his daughters to a hospital after experiencing high fever, shortness of breath and severe headache just over a week a...