South Asia Investor Review

Indian Prime Minister Narendra  Modi's threats of war  and Pakistan's isolation have failed to deter investors as KSE-100 index made new highs this week.  The key index of Pakistani shares closed at an all time high level of 41,412.04 points this week. Pakistan shares index has continued to outperform all regional and emerging market indices over the last 5 years. Modi's Threats: First came  "boli nahi, goli"   (Bullets, not talks). Then came "chappan inch ki chhaati" (56 inch chest, 44 actual according to Modi's tailor) and "Munh tor jawab (Jaw-breaking response) followed by threats of isolating Pakistan and claims of  surgical strikes  across the line of control in Kashmir. Investors ignored all of Modi's bluster as just rhetoric and drove Pakistani shares to a new all-time record. Source: Faseeh Mangi Bloomberg News Market Performance: To add insult to injury, the investment flow maintained Pakistan market as the best perfor...

A string of strong earnings announcements by Karachi Stock Exchange listed companies and the Central Bank's 1.5% rate cut have helped the KSE-100 index gain 32% year to date. In the week ended on August 16, the benchmark index surged by 238.59 points, or 1.61 percent, to 51-month high of 15,000.08 points. This was the highest close since April 30, 2008. Strong Earnings: Last week, KSE-listed Indus Motors announced 57% jump in profits on record sales of Toyota Corolla cars.  It was followed by Lucky Cement Ltd. (LUCK), Pakistan’s largest producer of the building material, announcing 71 percent surge in profits to a record as an increase in domestic sales offset a decline in exports. Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), the country’s second largest oil and gas explorer, said its profits soared 30% to Rs40.9 billion in fiscal 2012. Strong earnings have also been reported by Unilever Foods and Bata shoes in the last few days. Best Performing Market:  So far in 2012 Pak...