South Asia Investor Review

A story alleging corruption by former President  Pervez Musharraf  has appeared recently in Pakistan's Jang Media Group publications  in the aftermath of the  Panama Leaks  that revealed the names of 220 rich and powerful Pakistanis owning offshore accounts. The Panama Papers show that Mir Shakeel ur Rehman, the owner of Jang Media Group, owns offshore accounts, as do the family of the current  Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif  and former Pakistani  Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto  who was assassinated in 2007. Other Pakistanis named in the Panama Papers include prominent businessmen, politicians, judges, bureaucrats, etc. allegedly involved in  corruption . The names of former President Pervez Musharraf or his family members are not among the 220 names from Pakistan. The Jang Media Group story titled  "How Mr clean Musharraf became a billionaire"  lists accounts held by Mr. Musharraf in Dubai and London with balances adding u...

Pakistani diaspora  sent home $19.3 billion in remittances in 2015, representing 12.8 % increase over 2014, according to a World Bank Report titled " Migration and Development Brief " released today. Pakistan's $19.3 billion in remittance make up 6.9% of 2014 GDP, essentially closing the rising trade deficit amid the nation's falling exports. The 12.8% increase over 2015 is substantial but it is down from 16.7% jump seen in 2014 over 2013. The report attributes the slower remittance growth from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to falling oil prices. This report comes soon after the  Panama Leaks  that show how  Pakistan's corrupt elite , including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family, are moving and hiding in offshore tax havens the hard-earned dollars sent home by overseas Pakistanis to keep Pakistan's economy afloat. Overseas Remittances in South Asia Source: World Bank   In Q4 of 2015, ye...

Top fashion designers Maheen Khan, Deepak Perwani, Wardha Saleem, Obaid Shaikh, Sanam Chaudhri and others are showing their latest creations at the ongoing Pakistan Fashion Week in Karachi, Pakistan. It's being sponsored by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. In addition to domestic and foreign media, there are also several international buyers from overseas chain stores attending the show. Here are a few pictures from the fashion show: Photos Couresy of Tapu Jhaveri, others. Here's a Pakistan Pictorial:   Find more photos like this on PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network Related Links: Haq's Musings Pakistan Fashion Shows Pakistani Village Girl Launches VC-Funded Fashion Startup in San Francisco  Pakistan's Top Fashion Models Pakistani Cover Girls Life Goes On in Pakistan Pakistan Fashion Week 2013 Karachi Fashion Week 2013 Veena ...

India has recently complained to the World Trade Organization against the United States over changes to visas for skilled workers that Republican presidential candidates have targeted for elimination, according to a report in the  UK's Financial Times . The WTO revealed that India had requested consultations with the US over moves by Washington to raise fees for L1 and H1B working visas and also restrictions on the number of those visas awarded. The move is the first step in initiating a dispute at the WTO. India's WTO complaint: India's WTO complaint is over an increase in fees on H1B visas that the US imposed on companies with workforces comprised of more than 50 percent foreign workers. A provision included in last year's federal spending bill added a new $4,000 fee for each H1B, which India argues is discriminatory to the country under its trade agreement with the US. Meanwhile, the annual gold rush in  Silicon Valley  to file applications for H1B visas has ...

It costs less to live in Bangalore, India's high-tech capital, and Bombay, India's financial capital, than to live in  Pakistan 's  megacity of Karachi , according to the  2016 Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)  report. The survey says Karachi's cost of living index is 44 while Bangalore's is 42 and Mumbai's 43. The survey bases it on New York City's cost of living set at 100. Lusaka, Zambia, is the cheapest with cost of living index measured at 41. World's Cheapest Cities Source: EIU. Courtesy: Metro In fact, there are four Indian cities and just  one Pakistani city  among the  cheapest cities in the world , according to the latest EIU survey. The complete list of the World's Cheapest Cities is as follows: 1. Lusaka, Zambia 2. Bengaluru (Bangalore), India 3. Mumbai (Bombay), India 4. Almaty, Kazakhstan 5. Algiers, Algeria 6. Chennai (Madras), India 7. Karachi, Pakistan 8. New Delhi, India 9. Damascus, Syria 10. Caracas, Venezuela ...

Pakistan is seeing soaring foreign direct investment (FDI) with improving security and the start of several major energy and infrastructure projects as part of  China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) , according to the UK's Financial Times business newspaper. A New High in FDI: The year 2015 was a bumper year for  foreign investment   pouring into Pakistan, says the  Financial Times . The country saw 39 greenfield investments adding up to an estimated $18.9 billion last year, according to fDi Markets, an FT data service. This is a big jump from 28 projects for $7.6 billion started in 2014, and marks a new high for greenfield capital investment into the country since fDi began collecting data in 2003. Pakistan FDI Source: FT.com The number of projects in 2015 is the largest since Pakistan attracted 57 greenfield projects back in 2005 on  President Musharraf's watch .  China is now the top source country for investment into the country, surp...

Pakistanis sent nearly $5 billion to help their relatives in India in 2015, according to data released by the World Bank. This makes Pakistan the 4th largest source of foreign remittances to India, putting Pakistan ahead of Kuwait and the United Kingdom. Only United Arab Emirates, United States and Saudi Arabia sent more money to India. Source: Wall Street Journal   With over 1.4 million Pakistanis born in India, there are literally millions of family connections between the two countries and millions of reasons a person in Pakistan might find a way to get money to relatives in India. The money could be sent for a brother in need, a cousin’s wedding, an uncle’s funeral or even to help educate a niece, according to a report in the  Wall Street Journal . Source: Hindustan Times I personally know people in my own circle of friends and family in Pakistan who regularly send money to relatives in India to help them out in times of need. Such remittances are used to bu...