South Asia Investor Review

The top 1% of Indians own 40.1% of the nation's wealth, higher than the 37% global average. This makes India one of the world's most unequal countries, according to the World Inequality Report. By contrast, the top 1% own 24% of the country's wealth in Pakistan, and 23.9% in Bangladesh. Tiny groups of wealthy elites (top 1%) are using their money to buy mass media to manipulate public opinion for their own benefit. They are paying politicians for highly favorable laws and policies to further consolidate their power. It is a phenomenon known as " elite capture ".  Wealth Inequality. Source: World Inequality Report 2026 "Extreme wealth inequality is persistent and increasing" in all parts of the world, says the report published by World Inequality Lab of the Paris School of Economics. This has serious economic, political and social implications. It is undermining democracies and empowering billionaires at the expense of the common people, including the mid...

Last few months have seen a grotesque display of obscene wealth in India, a country with well-documented levels of extreme  poverty ,  hunger  and  unemployment . Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani has splurged hundreds of millions of dollars on his son's wedding attended by top politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hollywood and Bollywood celebrities and Ambani's fellow billionaires who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth in one of the world's most unequal countries.  Experts blame it on Mr. Modi's policies promoting crony capitalism.  Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India, told the  BBC  that their ability to acquire large distressed companies, a growing appetite for mergers and acquisitions, and India's conscious industrial policy of creating "national champions via preferential allocation of projects and in some cases regulatory agencies turning a blind eye to predatory pricing". Indian Prime Minister M...

Pakistan is among the countries with top 10 fastest growing population of ultra-high net-worth  (UHNW) individuals over the last 5 years. Bangladesh with 17.3% UHNW growth tops the list followed by China (13.4%), Vietnam (12.7%), Kenya (11.7%), India (10.7%), Hong Kong (9.3%), Ireland (9.1%), Israel (8.6%), Pakistan (8.4%) and United States (8.1%), according to World Ultra Wealth Report 2018 . Ultra-Rich Wealth Growth in 5 Years. Source: Wealth-X Ultra-Rich Definition:  The report compiled by Wealth-X defines ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) as an exclusive group of wealthy individuals located across the globe, each with a net worth of $30m or more. Only the top 1.1% of the world's 22.25 million millionaires qualify for inclusion in UHNW group. Here's an excerpt of the Wealth-X report: "According to Wealth-X estimates of global private wealth, the number of individuals with net assets of more than $1million totaled 22.3 million in 2017, with a combined net worth of...

The share of national income of Pakistan's poorest 20% of households has increased from 8.1% to 9.6% since 1990 , according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (NESCAP)  Statistical Yearbook for 2015 .  It's the highest share of income for the bottom income quintile in the region. Income Share Change in Asia's Poorest Quintile:  The countries where people in the poorest income quintile have increased their share of total income include Kyrgyzstan (from 2.5 per cent to 7.7), the Russian Federation (4.4 per cent to 6.5), Kazakhstan (7.5 per cent to 9.5) and Pakistan (8.1 per cent to 9.6).  India's bottom income quintile has seen its share of income drop from 9% to 7.8%. Bottom Quintile Income Share Change. Source: UNESCAP Statistical Yearbook Although more people in China have lifted themselves out of poverty than any other country in the world, the poorest quintile in that country now accounts for a lower percentage of ...

Data released by Credit Suisse with its  Global Wealth Report 2017  shows that Pakistan is the most egalitarian nation in South Asia. It also confirms that the median wealth of Pakistani households is three times higher than that of households in India. Wealth Inequality: Inequality is measured in terms of Gini index. It ranges from 0% for perfect equality (when everyone has the same wealth)  to 100% for total inequality (when all of the wealth is owned by one person).  On this scale, Pakistan’s Gini index is 52.6%, Bangladesh’s 57.9%, Sri Lanka’s 66.5%, Nepal’s 67.3%, China’s 78.9% and India's 83%. Data Source: Credit Suisse Graph: Counterview Household Wealth: Here is per capita wealth data for India and Pakistan as of mid-2017, according to Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2017 released recently. Pakistan average wealth per adult: $5,174 vs India $5,976 Pakistan median wealth per adult: $3,338 vs India $1,295 Average household wealth in Pakistan is $...

Average Pakistani adult is 20% richer than an average Indian adult and the median wealth of a Pakistani adult is 120% higher than that of his or her Indian counterpart, according to Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2016. Average household  wealth in Pakistan  has grown 2.1% while it has declined 0.8% in India since the end of last year. Source: Credit Suisse Wealth Report 2016 Here are the key statistics reported by  Credit Suisse : Total Household Wealth Mid-2016 : India $3,099 billion Pakistan $524 billion Wealth per adult: India Year End 2000 Average $2,036 Median $498.00 Pakistan Year End 2000 Average $2,399 Median $1,025 India Mid-2016 Average $3,835 Median $608 Pakistan Mid-2016 Average $4,595 Median $1,788 Average wealth per adult in Pakistan is $760 more than in India or about 20% higher. Median wealth per adult in Pakistan is $1,180 more than in India or about 120% higher Inequality:  Median wealth data indicates that 50% of Pakistani...

Pakistan’s middle class consists of over 6.27 million adults, according to wealth criteria used by Credit Suisse in its  Global Wealth Report 2015 . It represents 5.7% share of Pakistan’s total adult population of 111 million, almost twice as large as India’s middle class made up of 3% of its adult population based on the same criteria. Source: Credit Suisse Wealth Databook 2015 Average ($4,459) and median ($2,216) wealth figures for Pakistani middle class adults are higher than average ($4,352) and median ($868) wealth figures for their Indian middle class counterparts. It's a consequence of lower income wealth inequality in Pakistan compared to its neighbor.  For comparison, only 1.1% of  Bangladesh  adult population qualify as middle class. Their average wealth is $2,201 and median wealth $1,102 per adult. Pakistan Wealth Source: Global Wealth Report 2015 Via Express Tribune Credit Suisse's report estimates Pakistan's total private wealth in mid-2015 ...

The US state of Alaska has a small population of only 680,000 people and vast territory measuring 1.5 million square kilometers. The state is endowed with tremendous mineral wealth--particularly oil and gas. Alaska Permanent Fund was set up in 1976 to ensure that ordinary Alaskans get a share of this natural wealth. Currently the fund has assets of over $38 billion and each Alaskan will receive $1,174.00 in cash from it for 2011. Pakistan's Balochistan province shares some similarities with the US state of Alaska. It is the largest of Pakistan's four provinces in terms of area (347,190 square kilometers) but the smallest in terms of population (6.6 million). With large reserves of copper, gold and natural gas, it is probably the richest of Pakistan's provinces in terms of its natural resources . Most of the grievances of the people of Balochistan stem from a sense that they have not benefited from the resources under their land . Powerful tribal chieftains in the provinc...