Pakistan’s private equity potential
Profit explains what private equity is, and talks to some of the major stakeholders about the future
Q Block: The Next Generation
How one crop of ministers has dominated economic decision-making in Pakistan, and the contenders to eventually replace them
Is Tapal worth $1 billion?
The largest tea company in Pakistan has been private for decades. Its disinterest in ever going public is a case study for why some of Pakistan's most desirable companies choose to remain away from the public equity markets.
In the war between TCS and the startups, who will emerge the King of eCommerce logistics?
TCS has the infrastructure and the legacy. The startups have the technology. Who will win?
Pharmaceuticals: how the locals are beating the multinationals
In a heavily regulated market, the local players have learned to live with the price rules the way they are, while the foreign players still seem to have hope that things will change
The urban upper middle class are desperate for the vaccines of their choice. Why don’t we let them pay for it?
Access, cost, hesitation: The (political) economics of vaccine distribution
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