Expectations Rise For Economic Rebound in Pakistan
Shares in the Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index trade at 9.6 times reported earnings, the lowest in Asia excluding Japan, after the gauge rose 21 percent in 2009, according to Bloomberg . Dollar-denominated debt sold by Pakistan returned 86.4 percent so far this year, more than any of the 45 emerging markets tracked by New York-based JPMorgan and 19 developed countries followed by Merrill Lynch & Co. Aberdeen Asset Management Plc in London is bullish about Pakistan because the country is a beneficiary of international support. The U.S. House voted on June 11 to triple economic and development aid and to increase military assistance to stabilize a country vital to the war in neighboring Afghanistan. While the US aid announcement attracts the attention of investors, the fact is that the Pakistani global diaspora's remittances to Pakistan are far larger than any foreign aid packages. Over 7 billion dollars have already been received in the first eleven months (July-May) of the curr...