The dominance of the Big Five banks is about to be broken
Two banks – Meezan Bank and Bank AL Habib – are knocking at the door of one of Pakistan's most exclusive and powerful clubs. Here is what that means for the country's financial services sector
Naya Pakistan Certificates are ridiculously attractive for investors. But here is why that is bad for Pakistan
The government’s attempts to offer special privileges to expats to lure their dollar deposits is a slap in the face of every hardworking Pakistani who plays by the rules within Pakistan... and is terrible policy even otherwise
What will the Special Economic Zones do for the economy?
For decades SEZs have been touted as a driving force to help the economy. Past experiments have not worked well, will the latest push for them be more successful?
PTCL wants to sell Ufone. Here’s why that’s a good idea
The state-owned company wants to get out of the consumer business and focus on its infrastructure business. That could result in cheaper cellphone and internet services for all Pakistanis.
How big is the Pakistani middle class?
The number of people in the country who reach this point every year varies, as does the number of people who fall out of it. A place in the middle class in Pakistan, like all things related to the economy, is quite volatile and precarious
Mitchell’s: Can a new management save an old company?
Najam Sethi has taken over his wife’s family company and brought along a marketing executive to run the company, but can the food company’s deep problems be solved with more money and an ad campaign?
From urban morass to global city: how Karachi can fuel Pakistan’s rise
Pakistan’s largest city and commercial capital can join the ranks of cities driving global economic growth and dynamism in the national economy, but it will require vision, and a political settlement that has long eluded the city and its residents
Govt wants the PTCL model to fix the power sector. But can it work?
The idea of outright privatisation of many state-owned energy companies seems too good to be true, but a model for transferring management control while retaining majority shares might allow the government to placate its critics while moving towards relinquishing control over the energy sector
Why negotiating with the IPPs won’t fix much. And what will
A look at the series of bad ideas that have plagued the government’s attempts to fix the energy grid, and how the government keeps digging itself into a bigger and bigger hole
Why are Pakistani advertisers ignoring TikTok?
Due to brand safety concerns, advertisers in Pakistan are working directly with TikTok content creators instead of working with the Bytedance platform. Profit investigates why.
Sorry, JazzCash & Easypaisa; the fintech revolution for the unbanked is finally here
In October 2017, the giants of Pakistan’s financial and policy scene met at the most expensive hotel in the federal capital for...
Is Sultana Siddiqui about to lose control over Hum TV?
A sudden spike in investor interest in the company’s stock has the market swirling with rumours about a change in control of one of Pakistan’s biggest media companies
Have Pakistan’s most successful startup founders become Naspers’ latest victims?
The merger of EMPG and OLX has created a new entry into the unicorn club, but is it another one of Naspers' classic burn-them-out takeovers? Or did the Pakistani founders negotiate from a position of strength? Besides, who is next?
Why (and how much) Pakistanis overinvest in real estate
The obsession with real estate as an asset class is unhealthy for the economy; here is what investors should do instead
Why do we keep having petrol shortages?
The government is not responsible for the price fluctuations, but it is responsible for exacerbating the problem through its hamfisted attempts at controlling the nation’s energy supply chain