South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan's 10-wicket triumph over India in their recent T20 World Cup match has made history. It's the country's first ever win against its neighbor in 13 World Cup matches. It is also historic because the Indian bowlers failed to take even a single Pakistani wicket.  Pakistani opening batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan romped to an easy 10-wicket victory by scoring 152 runs in 17.5 overs without any losses. Batting first, India lost 7 wickets to reach 151 runs total in 20 overs. Since this India-Pakistan encounter on October 24, 2021, Pakistan has gone on to win its second match against New Zealand by 5 wickets.  Babar Azam and Virat Kohli In a rare honest analysis seen on India's ZeeTV, the comments by retired Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif and sports journalist Harpal Singh Bedi summed up the results as follows:  Mohammad Kaif:  "Shameful defeat for India"..."No amount of praise (for Pakistan) is enough"... "They (Pakistan) have done it w

DC Comics latest movie release "Injustice" is inspired by a video game titled "Injustice: God Among Us". It shows superheroes destroying military equipment in Indian Occupied Kashmir with the narrator's voice saying that Superman is stopping a government "waging a genocidal war against its own people.” DC Comics' Injustice In the DC Comics film, Superman is determined to avenge the villain Joker’s grave crimes, which include killing Superman’s partner Lois Lane and their unborn child. The Justice League, including Batman and Wonder Woman among other superheroes, try to get Superman to  restrain himself.  Depiction of  Kashmir  as “disputed” and the fictional superheroes’ destroying military equipment  have drawn a strong angry reaction in India, with Indians on social media venting against the United States: “America is literally always butting its nose in another’s nations business”. “So now comic writers write politics of world that they don’t know? I

Pakistan's quarterly technology exports reached $635 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2021-22, up more than 6 times since the first quarter of fiscal year 2009-10. The nation's overall quarterly merchandise exports have been relatively flat at about $6 billion average during this period.  Pakistan's Tech Exports 2010-2021. Source: Arif Habib Monthly technology exports soared 36% YoY to $ 215 million in September, 2021 from $158 million in the same month last year.  During 1QFY22, technology recorded exports of worth $ 635 million (40% of overall services’ exports), up by 43% YoY.  Recent Tech Exports FY 2021-22. Source: Arif Habib.  Pakistan also recorded the highest ever monthly exports average of $2.23 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 as textile and  garment exports  jumped 22.94% to reach $15.4 billion in Fiscal Year 2020-21 (July 2020-June 2021), according to data from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.  At the same time, the country's  technology e

Popular Netflix series Squid Games is a dystopian survival drama about unfortunate people trapped in debt who enter a series of six survival games. The losers die while the single winner takes away 46.5 billion (US$38 million) South Korean won. One US dollar is equal to about 1,200 Korean Won.  Anupam Tripathi as Ali Abdul in Squid Games One of the characters in the series is an exploited Pakistani  migrant worker  named Ali Abdul who just wants to send money home to help his family in Pakistan.  Ali's role is played by Indian actor Anupam Tripathi. Tripathi has previously played other foreign characters in the genre often referred to as K-drama. Squid Games has achieved top ratings around the world in spite of its very violent content. It is the top-rated show among  Netflix  subscribers in Pakistan.  Household Debt as Percentage of GDP. Source: IMF Squid Game is a powerful indictment of capitalism as practiced in many countries, including South Korea. It has brought to light high

Recent death of Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan has brought back memories of the success of Pakistan's nuclear program in the face of extreme adversity. This story came into particularly sharp focus by the Israeli newspaper  Haaretz's headline  "How Pakistan's A.Q. Khan, Father of the 'Muslim Bomb,' Escaped Mossad Assassination".  The opponents' efforts to stop what they called " The Muslim Bomb " exemplified "by all means necessary" madness, including assassinations of scientists. It included a joint India-Israel plan to attack and destroy Kahuta, the location of the Khan Research Lab (KRL) tasked with enriching uranium to build the bomb. Accounts of this plan have emerged from multiple sources in India, Israel and Pakistan.   Dr. Abul Qadeer Khan Joint  India-Israel  plan was developed to attack and destroy Khan Research Lab, named after Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, in1982. The plan involved Israeli F-16 fighters carry

Soaring LNG prices are adversely affecting Pakistan's balance of payments and threatening the nation's  post-COVID  economic recovery.  Pakistan's trade deficit has widened to nearly $12 billion in July-September 2021 quarter, up more than 100% from the same period last year. The nation's heavy reliance on expensive imported energy has been the main cause of prior balance of payments crises that have forced it to seek  IMF bailouts  more than a dozen times in the last 70 years.  Global LNG Prices. Source: The Peninsula Qatar   Pakistan: World's Fastest Growing LNG Market. Source: Bloomberg Global Commodity Price Increases The average LNG price for November delivery into Northeast Asia was estimated at about $32 per metric million British thermal units (mmBtu), up nearly 20 percent from the previous week, according to  the Peninsula Qatar publication . Price agency S&P Global Platts said on Thursday that its Japan-Korea-Marker, which is widely used as a benchmark

China has agreed to invest $3.5 billion in Karachi, according to Pakistani and Chinese officials. In a separate announcement earlier, Saudi Arabia said it is moving its planned $10 billion petrochemical complex from Gwadar to Karachi.  These announcements have triggered speculation that the focus of development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is moving from Gwadar to Karachi.  Karachi Port, Pakistan The Karachi project dubbed "Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone project" or KCCDZ    includes additional new berths to Karachi port, development of a new fisheries port and a 640-hectare special economic zone near the port. The project also envisages building a harbor bridge connecting the port with the nearby Manora islands, according to  Nikkei Asia .  Gwadar Port City Saudi decision to shift the $10 billion petrochemical plant from  Gwadar  to  Karachi  was triggered by the fact that there is no oil pipeline nor a rail line planned to support it at Gwadar.

Pakistan exported $38 million worth of denim clothing to the United States in July, 2021. This figure represents 140% growth over July, 2020. Mexico's denim exports grew 58% while those of Bangladesh grew 24% in this period, according to the US Office of Textiles and Apparel.  US Denim Apparel Imports. Source: US Office of Textiles and Apparel Among the top Asian suppliers, Pakistan's exports to US jumped 62.16% year to date to $188.94 million. Bangladesh’s exports increased 42.82% to $362.38 million in this period while shipments from China were up 13.28% to $192.49 million.  Pakistan’s textiles and clothing exports are expected to rise in the coming months as the US moves orders out of China and other neighboring Asian countries. The focus on more value addition and new textile policy of the country will support the organic growth in exports. The depreciation of PKR has also boosted textile exports. The monthly average of apparel exports from Pakistan was $565.60 million in H

India's pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020 has a large and prominent display of a miniature model of the controversial Ram Mandir at its entrance. Ram Mandir will replace the Mughal-era Babri Masjid that was destroyed by a Hindu mob in 1992.  It represents Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of India as a Hindu Rastra built on the ruins of the country's Muslim past. Inaugurating the Indian pavilion,  the country's trade minister Piyush Goyal told the media that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally gave us ideas and a lot of guidance on how to showcase India".  Model of Controversial Ram Mandir at Dubai Expo “It is a great opportunity to showcase emerging new India to visitors who are coming from all over the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally gave us ideas and a lot of guidance on how to showcase India as a modern vibrant technology driven international economy," trade minister Piyush Goyal, who inaugurated the India pavilion on Friday, tol

The year 2021 is turning out to be a banner year for  Pakistani tech startups . At the end of the third quarter of the current year, technology startups have already raised $278 million, twice the funding raised in the previous 5 years combined. In per capita terms, this is still just over $1 per person, a lot less compared to neighboring India where startups attracted  $20 per person .  Venture Capital Investment in Pakistan. Source: Kalsoom Lakhani, i2i Ventures The third quarter (July-Sept 2021) alone has seen startup companies raise $172.6 in 17 deals closed in the three-month period, according to data compiled by Kalsoom Lakhani of i2i ventures. The top deals closed in the third quarter were: 1. Airlift $85 million series B 2. Bazaar $30 million in series A and 3. QisstPay $15 million seed round.  Source: Kalsoom Lakhani, i2i Ventures The lion's share of the ,money ($117 million) went to E-commerce startups followed by Fintech ($35 million) and trucking platforms ($13.6 millio