Foreign Exchange

Despite continued uncertainty, the world’s largest dollar bond investors are continuing to maintain holdings in Pakistan. According to HSBC, Pakistani bonds have returned 35 percent this year, the best performance in Asia among dollar debt indexes compiled by London-based HSBC. ING Groep NV, Erste Sparinvest KAG and HSBC Holdings Plc, which oversee more than $800 [...]

Pakistani modern art market is soaring, thanks to recent boom in economic activity, rising incomes, investor interest and a line-up of upcoming artists – plus increasing corporate and Arab patronage. Pakistan’s art market has gone crazy over the past year, with prices multiplying 10 to 20 times over. And famous artists are not the only [...]

Recent events have not dampened Pakistan’s continued banking and financial sector expansion. The latest development follows a spate of purchases by overseas banks looking to expand in Pakistan. In the latest deal, Saudi Pak Commercial Bank (SPCB) is due to be bought in a $200m deal. Standard Chartered in 2006 became the first international bank [...]

The Rekodiq mining area has proven estimated reserves of two billion tons of copper and 20 million ounces of gold. Major reserves of copper and gold in Balochistan’s Rekodiq area have been discovered which would contribute about $1.25 billion annually to the national economy, it is learnt. According to the current market price, the value [...]

With these investments, Pakistan is also going to build Islamabad International Airport and two hydraulic power plants at Bunji and Nilam-Jhelum, Ghuman told local press recently. Pakistan has attracted US$1.6 billion in foreign investments during the first 7 months of this fiscal year, starting last July. It is expected to attract furthermore US$1.4 billion in [...]

Pakistan is rejoicing over the increasing home remittances sent by its workers abroad which are setting new records now. In the first seven months of the current financial year, remittances of 3-4 million overseas Pakistanis have reached $2.4 billion. These are likely to cross the $4 billion by the end of June. Pakistan is the [...]

Enshaa Holdings of Sharjah, UAE with its joint venture partner National Logistics Cell of Pakistan, has planned to invest $200 million in Karachi where the NLC has bought 13,000 square yards of Pakistan Railways land in an open bid against the price of Rs2.3 billion. Shaikh Tariq Al Qassimi said: “The investment environment and rapid [...]

Pakistan will soon replace its notes of all denominations with machine-readable currency to combat forgery and counterfeiting. Rs 20 notes had already been introduced in August last year with machine-readable technology. The ministry, through the State Bank of Pakistan, would ensure all currency notes were made with machine-readable security features this year. “The designs of [...]

Bank profits have risen sharply over the last three years. Fiscal 2004 saw record profits. Profits were up a massive 105 percent in nine months to September, 2005. The boost in the banks’ market capitalisation was 200 per cent. Banks, both foreign and domestic, are outperforming all financial sectors, as Pakistani economy moves on a [...]

Karachi’s fast growing stock market has helped lift prospects for Pakistan’s largest mutual fund – National Investment Trust, which is slated for privatisation in March this year. The fortunes of the three banks are in contrast to 10 years ago, when NIT’s total assets were worth Rps9bn and the banks bought their stakes on the [...]