Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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More positive news…lets hope things continue down this road.

This new way to bet on Pakistan is seen as

The first Pakistan-focused ETF started trading in New York on Thursday, and the ETF’s launch might be well-timed, as China on Monday unveiled plans to invest $46 billion in the world’s sixth-most populous country.

The launch slot for the Global X MSCI Pakistan ETF PAK, +0.06% is “remarkably fortuitous,” noted Dan Keeler, writing for The Wall Street Journal’s frontier markets blog. He added that China’s massive infrastructure development program (known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) is not the only potentially market-moving news this week for Pakistan, as Renaissance Capital on Tuesday described the South Asian nation as an “undervalued reform story” that’s delivering on its privatization promises. Skeptics say China’s planned investment might not materialize, especially if Pakistan continues to serve as a terrorist haven.

Speaking of China, this month also has brought the launch of the first leveraged ETF tied to China’s frenzied mainland stock market. Investors ought to treat this turbocharged product with great care, wrote Barron’s Chris Dieterich on Tuesday, likening the ETF to strapping “a rocket booster to the back of a dragon.” Its full name is the Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Share Bull 2x Shares ETF. CHAU, -2.85%

The number of foreign single-country ETFs listed in the U.S. has grown to 204. (XTF.com data as of Wednesday put the figure at 203, so add the Pakistan product and you get 204.) Excluding leveraged products, there are 177 single-country ETFs.

About 30 new single-country ETFs came to market in 2014, and there are more than twice as many such funds as there were five years, said Ashley Lau in a Reuters report last month. Risks around single-country ETFs include their tendency to trade at much larger premiums or discounts than major U.S. domestic ETFs, she added. Another risk is many such funds have big exposure to a single stock or sector, as a Journal report once noted.

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

HOW CAN WE ?
In presence of huge , very huge corruption by individuals and institutions .

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

u mean in presence of Zardari… ???

Bhai sahib, India is ten hundred time more corrupt then we our generals or politicians are… there one scandaly of 2G or 3G is bigger then our total value of corruption… so try to be positive sometime.. have a walk at margalla hills, feel fresh air and then take a bath… it will help

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

No.

You can’t become a power without developing your people. Make as many roads and bridges as you want - untill there is investment on Education, Health etc nothing gonna sustain.

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Nope we have too many structural issues and infrastructure issues.

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

A 1000 mile journey starts with the first step, lets hope this is the first step. Its a welcome news, nay says please stay home…

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Its a loooong way to go.. i wont jump to conclusion as of yet. Too many hurdles. Here projects start and when the govt is abolished in the middle and everything poofs.. There are many what-ifs to go..

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

No I mean Hamza , Showbaz & Nawaz
Very sad that knowing all , you are making jokes , Corruption is everywhere , nothing changed , If you want to go up . You will have to go against corruption as first step .
I see only Saad Rafeeq and Ch Nisar , the only serious .
India is less corrupt and institutions are not corrupt there .

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Russo-Pakistan relations are riding high | Asia Times

By Dr. Sudha Ramachandran

After decades of frosty ties, Russo-Pakistan relations are now on a roll. Close on the heels of the signing of a military co-operation framework agreement – the first of its kind between the two countries and widely described as a “milestone” in bilateral relations, Islamabad and Moscow have energized their relationship with Russia agreeing last week to invest $2 billion in construction of a 1,100-kilometer pipeline in Pakistan. The pipeline will transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the southern port city of Karachi to Lahore. In return, Pakistan will award the contract for building the pipeline to a Russian company. Russia has also offered to sell gas to Pakistan and the first gas exports could begin as early as 2016.

The pipeline deal is creating a buzz not just for the magnitude of the investment but for the significance it holds for their bilateral relations. If the military co-operation agreement signaled a thaw in ties, the energy deal confirms that Russo-Pakistan joint endeavors are not a one-off affair.

Moscow-Islamabad relations were rarely warm in the past. The two countries were on opposite sides during the Cold War. Pakistan was part of U.S.-led military alliances, received enormous amounts of military and other aid from Washington and even allowed its territory and air space to be used by the Americans for surveillance of the Soviet Union. Then in the 1980s relations plunged to a new low when Pakistan emerged a frontline actor in the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan; U.S. weapons and funds were channelled via Pakistan’s ISI to the Afghan mujahideen fighting the Soviets. While the end of the Cold War eased tension considerably, the continuing Russian-Indian embrace kept Pakistan out in the cold. That changed over the past decade especially with India moving closer to the Americans and diversifying its sourcing of defense hardware. In June last year, Russia lifted an arms embargo on Pakistan, paving the way for the defense cooperation agreement. The energy deal will broaden their cooperation.

Russia’s recent reaching out to Pakistan is widely interpreted as the outcome of its annoyance with India’s growing dalliance with Washington. That is the India-U.S. partnership drove Moscow into Pakistan’s arms. However, at best the India-U.S. engagement is likely to have removed any inhibitions that Russia may have had in doing business with India’s rivals.

Underlying Russia’s decision to engage Pakistan more robustly are hard commercial interests. Pakistan provides Russia’s defence industry with a large market. The natural gas deal will provide Russia with a new buyer, enabling it to diversify its export market, which has become necessary especially in the context of its conflict with the European Union, its main buyer, over the Ukraine issue.

The commercial underpinnings of the Russo-Pakistan relationship notwithstanding, their engagement will be closely watched in India. India will be monitoring what weapons Russia sells to Pakistan. So far much of the defense cooperation envisaged appears to be in the field of counter-terrorism and military exercises. Sale of helicopter gunships is in the pipeline but these are more useful in counter-insurgency than conventional warfare. Delhi will watch to see what weapons Russia provides with the gunships.

At the end of the day, India and Russia are deeply dependent on each other. Despite the diversification, over 70% of India’s defence needs are met by the Russians and India is a market Moscow cannot afford to annoy. Pakistan is at best still a temporary distraction in the India-Russia relationship.

Dr. Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore, India who writes on South Asian political and security issues. She can be reached at [email protected]

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Way to become up
Interior Minister expressed his annoyance over the progress of the federal government’s premier probe agency

https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQDKom9Xo_FFNTwM&w=470&h=246&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnation.com.pk%2Fprint_images%2Flarge%2F2015-04-24%2Fstop-corruption-or-go-home-nisar-warns-fia-officers-1429841966-9107.jpg&cfs=1&upscale=1&sx=0&sy=89&sw=800&sh=419
Stop corruption or go home, Nisar warns FIA officers
ISLAMABAD - In a rare show of courage, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Friday issued a warning to the top hierarchy of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over its slow pace of investigations into mega-corruption scandals, saying it…
NATION.COM.PK

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Are you referring to Pakistan cricket?

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Political system is evolving, and along with it, service delivery will also likely improve (exceedingly slow, but improve it will).

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

http://online.barrons.com/articles/global-investors-rediscover-pakistan-1429925134

Global Investors Rediscover Pakistan

By Shuli Ren
April 25, 2015

In his first state visit to Pakistan last week, China’s President Xi Jinping pledged $46 billion to build a 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) economic corridor linking China’s restive west to Pakistan’s southwest port on the Arabian Sea. It is by far Beijing’s biggest bet on another developing country.

Earlier this month, Pakistan raised $1 billion from the sale of a big stake in its largest commercial bank, Habib Bank (ticker: HBL.Pakistan). Demand was overwhelming, and three-quarters of the shares went to foreigners, mostly long-term institutional investors.

We associate Pakistan with terrorism and sectarian violence. But China’s leaders are practical and business-minded: Are we missing something?

In many ways, Pakistan’s prospects look brighter today than they have in a long time; in fact they’re similar to those of its bitter rival, India. Growth has ticked up, from 3.7% in 2013 to 4.1% last year. Like India, Pakistan recently got nods of approval from the International Monetary Fund and Moody’s, with the former lifting its GDP forecast to 4.3% this year and 4.7% next, and the latter raising Pakistan’s credit outlook to positive from stable. Pakistan almost halved its budget deficit to 4.7% of GDP last year, and is now targeting 4%.

Lower oil prices also help Pakistan. Inflation hit a new low of 2.5% in March, down from 8.5% a year earlier. In March, Pakistan’s central bank cut its key interest rate to 8%, with another reduction possible.

The major concern is, of course, security. While falling, the number of civilian fatalities from terrorist attacks still totaled 1,781 last year. That was a seven-year low. So far this year, there are 352 fatalities.

INVESTORS WILL USUALLY PAY a premium for structural reform. On this count, “Pakistan ticks many of the boxes” but is not getting the love, says Renaissance Capital’s chief economist, Charles Robertson. It trades at only 8.4 times forward earnings, whereas investors’ darling India fetches 16.8 times.

Much of the shortfall is Pakistan’s fault. During the financial crisis in 2008, Pakistan suspended stock trading, only to see a sharp selloff upon re-opening. The episode prompted indexer MSCI to downgrade the country from emerging to frontier market. If operating normally, the Karachi Stock Exchange, with a market valuation above $70 billion, and $140 million in daily trading volume, would qualify as an emerging market. Over 25 stocks generate more than $1 million in daily trades.

Stocks have done very well since the shutdown. They’ve risen an annualized 26% over five years. Last week, Global X launched the first U.S.-listed Pakistani exchange-traded fund, Global X MSCI Pakistan, under the ticker PAK.

Pakistani cement makers, beneficiaries of infrastructure spending, are a good bet, says Asha Mehta, frontier markets portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management. Pioneer Cement (PIOC.Pakistan), for example, expanded its operating margin from 27% in 2012 to 34% in 2014 and trades at only 7.7 times earnings.

Pakistan isn’t for the faint-hearted. In March, its market fell 10% in five days because of one investor: Miami-based Everest Capital unloaded around $70 million to cover a bad bet on the Swiss franc, and local sell orders ballooned from resulting margin calls and panic. Though Pakistan’s stock market recovered, it’s unlikely that such an event could occur in India’s bigger, more mature market.

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Re: Is Pakistan about to take off as a major Asian power?

Education and basic necessities are needed for any progress to occur for the common people.
Without that, Pakistan cannot prosper. Only certain families will.