In today’s world, no country, irrespective of ideological differences, stands isolated today. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a strong and vibrant instrument for an accelerated socio-economic development but conducive atmosphere in this regard is a must. There are two sources of FDI namely, Direct Investment and Portfolio. Direct Investment refers to investment in various industries. This represents fixed investment and is generally expected to be on long run basis …

  ‘Business and commercial activities need to be coherent with the Shariah Corridor and Islamic financial laws’ Despite tremendous growth of the Islamic banking industry it is yet to go a long way to achieve the much desired objectives of socio-economic justice by raising awareness and taking benefits of interest free financial system, free from exploitation. Though more and more people are preferring Islamic banking but financial institutions offering these …

  Islamic banking industry in Pakistan has been growing at a fast pace ever since its re-launch in 2002 and now represents over 12-percent of overall banking industry with as many as 19 Islamic banking institutions offering Islamic banking products and services through a network of over 1,400 branches across the country. Almost all the conventional banks are also introducing Shariah-based banking upon which the central bank is reviewing their …

  While investors have been increasingly fishing for Shariah-compliant investment options, conventional banks and asset management companies, in order to cater to the growing demand for Islamic products, were seen jumping into bandwagon. Ijarah Sukuks are Shariah-compliant medium term investment instruments with 6-monthly (floating) profit payments guaranteed by the Government of Pakistan (GoP). SBP announces profits for Sukuk every 6 months. Facilities of further investment and premature encashment through reselling …

  Western route under CPEC expected to be completed by December 2016 Work is speedily underway on the Western route under the portfolio of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects involving new building of 650-km road from Gwadar to Sorab, which would link Gwadar with Quetta, Qila Saifullah and Zhob. The work was already being carried out by Frontier Works Organization (FWO) for last two years and is expected to be …

  Despite having vast population of young people, the country is not tapping true potential of human resource due to many reasons. Non-availability of adequate credit has been one of the major impediments to the growth of the country’s industrial and agriculture sectors. Pakistan’s financial system currently reaches only a fraction of huge informal sector. Microfinance providers — that segment of the financial services industry focused on the needs of …

  Renewable energy must be a important part of Pakistan’s energy plan In the face of critical energy crisis, Pakistan needs to explore renewable energy avenues to improve its power supply. So far renewable energy is not important part of Pakistan’s energy plan. As per estimates, the country loses up to 3-percent of its GDP per annum are because of power shortages. Despite enormous potential, Pakistan cannot explore avenues of …

  Prices of locally-assembled vehicles are competitive with global prices Automotive sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Pakistan, as it contributes towards the nation’s economy in the form of technology transfer, employment and revenue generation. Local vendors deem to play an important role in the growth of auto industry as they bear the responsibility of producing auto parts and sub-assemblies according to the benchmark set by the …

  Import of used cars not bring in any investment While the auto industry has proved to be the engine of growth for any nation, in recent history, countries such as Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Brazil have wholeheartedly supported their automobile industries and continuously making thrive. Presently there are three areas of support. Firstly, these countries have ensured 100 per cent access of domestic market to local …

  Deposit mobilization had been much easier in Islamic banking in Pakistan About 40 years ago, Islamic Finance was started to cater the needs of faith-based Muslims. Once looked at in the Arabian Gulf and Malaysia, the Islamic Finance market is evolving into a global one now. In the last decade, the Islamic Financial Sector has registered a growth of 20% per year, indicating it as one of the fastest …