South Asia Investor Review

After painfully watching the heartbreaking scenes of carnage in Pakistani provincial capital of NWFP on TV screens, it came as a pleasant surprise to see the New York Times mention Peshawar in a different context; volunteer cartographers contributing to digital maps "from Petaluma to Peshawar". It particularly caught my attention because I have had the pleasure of visiting both of these fine cities, and I currently live not too far from the one in California. "From Petaluma to Peshawar, these amateurs are arming themselves with GPS devices and easy-to-use software to create digital maps where none were available before, or fixing mistakes and adding ... Read Full Story

Shekhar Gupta of Indian Express argues that India has "a stake in Pakistan’s survival and moderation as a democratic state" and warns against " utterly unconcealed sense of delight " about the daily carnage in Pakistan. Gupta cautions against the prevailing "smugness" in his country and adds, "This is not just the mood of the mobs here. Even the “intelligentsia”, the TV talking heads, opinion page columnists, government spokespersons, all have the same smug air of “I-told-you-so” and “so-what-else-did-they-expect” satisfaction. And they ask the same patronizing question: hell, can Pakistan be saved ?" Gupta concludes his piece by saying, "Time has therefore come to ... Read Full Story

Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) witnessed bullish activity as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 106 points to close at 9,251. The market opened with green numbers and remained in the positive territory throughout the session. Full Story And Original Content.TrendPK.com KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) witnessed bullish activity as the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 106 points to close at 9,251. The market opened with green numbers and remained in the positive territory throughout the session. The reports of reduction in the cut-off yield on one-year term T-Bills and slashing of the discount rate [...] Read Full Story

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=84738 Shipbuilding industry sees growth spree Munima Sultana The country’s fast growing ship building industry is likely to see another growth spurt within a year as a number of foreign companies are seeking local partners to develop backward linkage industries. Ship building owners said joint venture investment are likely to come from Denmark, Germany, France and few other countries that would help reduce the foreign dependence from ship designing to painting to make world class ocean-going vessels. Officials of Danish Embassy said at least nine Danish entrepreneurs are working on establishing joint ventures to develop deck equipment, windows, generators, hydraulic system and marine electrical ... Read Full Story

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2009/11/18/news0891.htm IBBL trains employees of Nigerian bank Business Report The valedictory session of a week long “Pre-Launching Manpower Development Programme” organised by Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd was held on Sunday at the conference hall of its training and research academy. Prof. Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman, Board of Directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd. was present in the function as Chief Guest. Presided over by M. Fariduddin Ahmad, Managing Director of the Bank the programme was addressed by Nazir Ahmed, Chairman of Academic Council of Islami Bank Training and Research Academy (IBTRA) and former Chairman of IBBL and Mohammad Mustafha Bintube, Chief Executive ... Read Full Story