South Asia Investor Review

On Pakistan's 73rd Independence Anniversary, the people of the South Asian nation have demonstrated their resilience yet again. They have defied all foreign and domestic doomsayers, including media, activists and think tanks of all varieties. Pakistan has successfully  fought off the deadly COVID19 virus  and begun to bounce back economically. Moody's rating agency has raised Pakistan's economic outlook from "under review for downgrade" to "stable". Pakistan's Planning Minister Asad Umar is talking of a " V-shaped recovery ". Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) is recovering. Monthly cement sales have rebounded to the pre-pandemic level, fertilizers sales are setting records, fuel sales have increased, tax collection is up,  exports are rising and the Karachi stock market is booming again. Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa have been on the same page in tackling the health and economic crises faced by Pakistan. C...

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has recently announced a  new housing construction incentives  package that includes down payment assistance and expansion of home loans portfolios by commercial banks at discounted rates for affordable housing for the poor. Shariah compliant financing is also included in it. Pakistan’s mortgage finance to GDP ratio is just 0.25%, among the lowest in the world, according to the  World Bank . The average for South Asia 3.4%.  New housing drives a large number of sectors of the economy from  banking  and  building materials  to  construction  and  manufacturing  of furniture and  home appliances . These incentives are designed to stimulate the economy, boost employment and deal with the growing shortage of affordable housing in the country. Naya Pakistan Housing: Pakistan government's Naya Pakistan housing program offers Rs. 33 billion in direct subsidies for down payments for...

Pakistan's newly-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan has completed his first week in office. He has named his cabinet and key advisors to run his government. What key challenges does he face going forward? Pakistan graduated from low-income (level 1) to lower-middle-income (level 2) status at the end of  Musharraf years  in 2008, according to the United Nations.  Can  Prime Minister Imran Khan  lead his nation to  upper-middle-income (level 3) ranks  by the end of his first term in office? What are his chances of accomplishing this ambitious goal? Successive Pakistani governments have failed to  manage the nation's external accounts  and foreign exchange reserves, forcing incoming governments to seek IMF bailouts. IMF bailouts come with strings attached, strings that impact Pakistan's sovereignty. One of the key reasons is that Pakistan's exports have halved from about 16% of GDP in 2003 to 8% of GDP in 2017. India's exports have increa...