Business Archives - Pakistan Shining

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Pakistan sees nearly 70% rise in exports to China

ISLAMABAD Pakistan recorded nearly 70% increase in exports to China in the first quarter of 2021, an official said on Wednesday. “Impressive figures of Pakistan’s exports to China in 1st quarter of year 2021. $888 million as compared to 2020′ Q1 $526 million. An increase of 69%,” Moin ul Haque, Pakistan’s ambassador to China, said on Twitter. Haque praised his team for, encouraging for more: “Let us keep this momentum…

Pakistani startups make a mark globally

Pakistani startups have started making waves in the international arena by attracting wider international investment and media coverage. Since the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, the e-commerce industry has grown in popularity and firms specialising in this sector are leveraging digitalisation to bring suppliers and customers closer to each other. In the current era of rapid digitalisation, many startups have sprung up across different industries. One can say that competition…

Pakistan’s fintech Oraan raises $3m

Pakistan’s fintech Oraan has raised $3 million in the largest seed funding closed by a local women-led startup, announced the company on Monday. The financing round was co-led by Zayn Capital and Wavemaker Partners, with participation from Resolution Ventures, i2i Ventures, Hustle Fund, Haitou Global, Plug and Play, and notable angels like Claire Diaz-Ortiz, a former partner at Magma Partners, who has also come on board as an advisor to…

Pakistani microfinance pioneer wins Asia’s ‘Nobel Prize’

A microfinance pioneer from Pakistan — who developed an interest-free microfinance programme — was among Tuesday’s winners of Asia’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize. Muhammad Amjad Saqib, 64, won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his “first-of-its-kind” interest- and collateral-free microfinance programme that catalysed scores of poor households. Nearly two decades after its launch, Akhuwat — founded by Dr Saqib — has grown into the nation’s largest microfinance institution, distributing the…

France investors in Pakistan after 12 years

French investors visit Pakistan after 12 years

Pakistan’s quest to attract more foreign investment received a huge boost when a delegation of French investors visited the country after a gap of 12 years. The visit of french investors in Pakistan lasted between April 4-6, saw more than a dozen French businesses showing keen interest in investing in the country and expanding bilateral trading links. The visit of the France-Pakistan Business Council, consisting of 16 French businesses and…

CPEC, macroeconomic stability to increase investment in Pakistan: World Bank

The World Bank has said that the successful completion of an IMF-supported program enhanced macroeconomic conditions and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan. According to the World Bank’s “Global Economic Prospects: A Fragile Recovery” report for June 2017, growth in Pakistan is accelerating this year, largely driven by robust domestic demand and improved foreign direct investment. Furthermore, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project, as well as a stable macroeconomic…

Mattias Martinsson put money in Pakistan when most people wouldn't take the risk

A long term view: The man who took a chance on Pakistan

On 2 May 2011, Barack Obama announced that al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden had been killed by US forces in Pakistan. He was shot dead at a compound near the capital, Islamabad. And once again, Pakistan was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A country used to bad news – both politically and economically – it has long been seen as the basket case economy of South Asia…