South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan's benchmark KSE-100 index hit an all-time high after the announcement of the $7 billion IMF bailout deal today. Economic indicators such as inflation, exports and remittances are also showing significant improvement as well. Speaking to reporters after the IMF deal,  the Fund Managing Director  Kristalina Georgieva acknowledged progress made by Pakistan. She said  "The economy is on the sound path. Growth is up and inflation is down". The  KSE-100 index rose in early trade to a record high of 82,905.73 points, before giving up those gains later in the day to close 0.7% down at 81,657. It still represents an annual gain of nearly 100%.  Pakistani Stock Market Outperforms Asian Peers. Source: Bloomberg Pakistan rupee has remained essentially stable at around Rs. 277 to a US dollar over the last year. Inflation has come down from 37% last year to less than 10% this year.  Exports have climbed 10.54% ($2.921 billion) to $30.645 billion during the fisc...

The Indian government has reported an 8.4% jump in economic growth in the July-to-September period compared with a contraction of 7.4% for the same period a year earlier. The average GDP growth in India over the last two years has averaged just 0.2% per year. The news appears to indicate strong recovery after a big economic hit suffered from the COVID pandemic since early 2020.  Pakistan's economy fared relatively better during the pandemic. Pakistan's GDP rose 0.5% in 2020 and 3.9% in 2021. As a result, Pakistan now fares better than India on multiple indices including Hanke  Misery Index , World  Happiness Index ,  Food Affordability  Index and World  Hunger Index .   India's Economy: Welcoming the news, renowned Indian economist Kaushik Basu tweeted :  "India's growth of 8.4% over Jul-Sep is welcome news. But it'll be injustice to India if we don't recognize, when this happens after -7.4% growth, it means an annual growth of 0.2% over 2 ye...

Karachi's population has grown 80.5% in the last decade, making it the world's fastest growing megacity, according to  recently released Demographia World Urban Areas Report .  Karachi is followed by Shenzhen, Lagos, Beijing, Bangkok, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Delhi, Jakarta and Istanbul. Source: Demographia Karachi is Huge: The report says that Karachi is the world's 7th largest metropolis with an estimated population of nearly 21 million inhabitants packed in an area of 310 square miles, making it the 10th densest large city in the world. Demographia authors acknowledge that their estimate of Karachi's "population is lower than other estimates (such as the United Nations), which include metropolitan area population not within the continuously developed urban area". KPT Flyover, Karachi  Massive Influx of Migrants: In addition to the normal migration patterns witnessed in the past, Karachi has also seen major influx of waves of refuge...

The recent political turmoil with Bhutto's return and her tragic assassination in Oct-Dec 2005 period is taking its toll on Pakistan's economy. Weaker textile exports, rising food prices, and ongoing energy crisis have caused the government to scale down its growth target for the fiscal year ending June 2008. Immediately after Benazir Bhutto's death on Dec. 27, rioters from her native Sind province caused an estimated $1.3 billion in losses, according to Karachi's Chamber of Commerce. Power transmission, telecommunications and roads were affected. Among the recent issues exacerbating the larger energy crisis, the two main power transmission lines were blown up in January 2008 in Sind, creating a shortfall of 1,000 MW. The business community complained that lopsided and unplanned shutdowns resulted in closures in almost all industries. Many factories in Karachi, the heaving commercial hub -- including some owned by Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Philip Morris International I...

Pakistan’s economy has recently been growing at 7-8% per year, doubling its GDP over the last 7 years. The industrial growth rate has been closer to 12.5% per year during this period, contributing 38% of the total economic output of Pakistan. Per capita energy consumption of the country is estimated at 14 million Btu, which is about the same as India's but only a fraction of other industrializing economies in the region such as Thailand and Malaysia, according to the US Dept of Energy 2006 report. To put it in perspective, the average world citizen uses about 65 million BTUs and an average American consumes 352 million BTUs. With 40% of the Pakistani households that have yet to receive electricity, and only 18% of the households that have access to pipeline gas, the energy sector is expected to play a critical role in economic and social development. With this growth comes higher energy consumption and stronger pressures on the country’s energy resources. At present, natural gas an...