War on cash – Will the real payments revolution please stand up?
Contrary to common perception, Pakistanis are absolutely desperate to begin using internet-based payments; will the handful of well-funded fintech startups be able to break through the massive barriers to entry and get Pakistan on the road to its digital revolution?
HBL vs Bank Alfalah: the race to buy Silkbank’s consumer lending business
The bank is one of Pakistan’s smallest banks, but it plays an outsize role in the consumer lending space, making its spinoff of that portfolio a coveted asset among Pakistan’s bigger banks… and potentially a big deal for the country’s e-commerce industry
Is Pakistan ready to unlock its export potential with Amazon?
If manufacturers in Pakistan invest in brand development to compete on value instead of price, they have a shot to grow export revenues with the leading online marketplace, according to a Wapistani alumni of the $1.7 trillion company
Who owns Pakistan?
Ownership of the largest companies in Pakistan remains highly concentrated, but the wealth of the current economic elite may be a pair of golden handcuffs, keeping them invested in the industries of the past rather than looking to the future
Pakistani banks don’t lend to the private sector. For good reason
Banks are at a loss at how to deal with bad faith actors defaulting away – along with a sloth like judiciary that allows them to get away
What is Hascol hiding?
The petroleum company is trying to erase its history. But with billions of rupees missing, auditors resigning, and law enforcement agencies taking unprecedented interest, that is proving to be a little difficult
The scapegoating of Byco… and what it says about Pakistan’s energy sector
The government controls more than two-thirds of the oil and gas sector in the country, and yet manages to find ways to blame market inefficiencies on the private sector
Here comes the rupee roller-coaster
We have seen this movie before: the rupee crashes, then stabilizes, then the government takes it too far in keeping the exchange rate constant. Here is what you can do to survive the inevitable crash that will come soon
Want to raise capital for your startup in Pakistan? Get a degree in America
Venture capitalists often pride themselves in disrupting hierarchy, but for all the paeans to eschewing credentialism, there is a distinct profile of which founders get funded, and which ones do not
The legend of Inam Akbar and the truth behind his Midas touch
The story of how one man turned an entire country’s news media industry into his personal playing ground.
Why Shan Foods should actively consider an IPO
The condiments company has always remained intensely private, but growth, transition, and competitive pressures from publicly listed National Foods suggest it may be time to finally go public
Back in the game?
The return of Big Spender Atif Bajwa means Bank Alfalah is back with its plan to break into Banking’s Big Five
National bank recorded its highest profit ever. But has Usmani treated the cause or only the symptom?
Undeterred by controversies, NBP’s president faces the most challenging job of his career
The Careem playbook, decoded
And what it can tell about the future of other mass-market, consumer-facing technology businesses in Pakistan
Daraz is number one in Pakistani e-commerce. Can it stay that way?
The Alibaba-owned company is clearly the market leader in Pakistani e-commerce, but it is still too early to say that it has built a lasting advantage for itself