This paper presents a Pakistani case of accession to the WTO Information Technology Agreement which obliges the signatories to withdraw any import duties and taxes on a list of IT and telecom equipment. Some of the products under the coverage of ITA are: computer hardware and software, telephones, semiconductors, measuring, testing and analysing instruments etc.

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To read more, click here: Position Paper on Information technology agreement

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

Vibrancy inherent in life will always carve for change. And market remains a potent medium for articulating and fulfilling this demand for change. Case in point is the onslaught of Turkish soap operas on local channels in recent years. Under the grab of protectionism, an unholy coalition of local production houses and channel operators was able to get the Indian channels banned on local cable. However, the smell of money from some other direction broke this tactical alliance in 2012. In that faithful year, Urdu-1, a new entertainment TV channel, launched an Urdu-dubbed Turkish series ‘Ishq-e-Mamnu’. It proved itself a marketing masterstroke for a new entrant in a cluttered channel market. From a slow start, the Turkish soap was able to grab the rating of 11.79 for its last episode, a record that remained unbroken since December 2012.

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To read more, click here: Position Paper on Turkish drama on Pakistan TV

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

In the modern market economy, a stock exchange will be accounted among its most visible icons. Its engagement with general populace is smooth and seamless. Entry and exit in stock trading is easy even for the first time investor. Media loves it, as it can provide daily stream of juicy stories behind high and lows of the stocks. With big money flowing, its operators enjoy strong support among sections of government and corporate sector. In this favorable environment, it is never easy to challenge the conventional wisdom of equating local stock market as the barometer of our economy. Any effort on inducing more competition or pro-market reforms in the local stock market can easily be thwarted by a nexus of state and brokers. Purpose here is not to contest the efficacy of stock market in a country’s economy, but to stress upon the rent-seeking structure of local stock exchange.

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To read more, click here: Position Paper on Stock Exchange

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

This report reviews how often Pakistan’s economy has been discussed by our electronic
media during its prime time talk shows. Top five talk shows of news channels i.e. Capital
talk (Hamid Mir), Live with Talat (Syed Talat Hussain), Aapas Ki Baat (Muneeb Farooq & Najam Sethi), Nadeem Malik Live (Nadeem Malik) and Dunya @ 8 With Malick (Muhammad Malick), have been included.

The shows were reviewed and categorized into four groups according to their topics namely Economy/Energy, National Politics, Terrorism/Security and Social/others (Education, governance, corruption, foreign policy).

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To read more, click here: How much economy appears in prime time content analysis of top tv talk shows

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

Intellectual property (IP) plays an important role towards economic growth, especially in the modern knowledge-based economies. The IP regime deals with protection of trademarks and copyrights and granting patents. Foreign companies take into consideration the IP regime of a country before setting up business.

In Pakistan, protection against violation of intellectual property is weak. Currently, International Property Rights Index (IPRI) ranks Pakistan at 117 among 129 countries. As of late, some progress has been made as USA has moved Pakistan to its watch list from priority list in 2016. However, major issues are still lagging such as the twin problems of copyright violations and enforcements of IP rights laws. If these problems persist, Pakistan will be deprived of a sizeable amount of foreign direct investment. Especially now, as Pakistan is expecting high foreign investment pouring into the country as a result of CPEC and an emerging market status, issues of intellectual property rights have become crucial to our development designs.

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To read more: Trademark of Growth – Inquiring Pakistan’s Intellectual Property Rights Regime

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

The geographical significance of a country plays a pivotal role in the world politics for
that country. It marks that how critically beneficial or non-beneficial is the country to the other countries in social, economic and political respects. Pakistan is located at a very strategically important place on the globe. It is located at the juncture of energy proficient to energy deficient countries. On one side it connects with the Persian Gulf and on the other gives access of the warm water to land locked countries. The geo-strategic importance of Pakistan is also evident from the fact that it is surrounded by world’s emerging economic giants; i.e. India and China, and the countries rich in natural resources; i.e. Afghanistan and Iran.

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To read more, click here: CPEC Geo Strategic importance of Pakistan 

For media inquiries, contact at saad@primeinstitute.org

The land-use pattern is undergoing a transition in Pakistan. The commercial demand for real estate is increasing and is expected to be dominated by mixed-use establishments, shopping malls, retail spaces and office units in 20161. It can be anticipated that through current trends and predictions that retail-related demand will headline this new pattern of commercial land-use.

Retail demand for real estate is a derived demand based on the performance of the retail sector which has stayed robust in growth despite the economic challenges of the country. This outlook of the retail sector in Pakistan is spurred by a rising trend in population and increasing urbanization. The result is the emergence of modern retail such as superstores, hyper-stores and shopping malls mainly in the three large metropolitans of the country i.e. Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad/Rawalpindi.

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For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org

At the time of independence in 1947, there were no pharmaceutical firms in Pakistan. Today, the country boasts more than 700 pharmaceutical manufacturing units. In fact, QuintileIMS in its latest quarterly report1puts the ‘Active Manufacturers’ at 759, up from a total of 304 in 1999.However, official sources dispute this figure, contending that there are no more than 650 licensed manufacturers in Pakistani pharmaceutical industry.

This indicates a wide gulf between industry and the government that is characteristic of the pharmaceutical landscape in Pakistan. Taking the QuintileIMS figure as a reference point, only 27 are Multi-NationalCorporations (MNCs) while Pakistani firms account for 645 of the total 3. The generally accepted figure of MNCs, though, is 17 or 184, down from 40 or more in the 1990s.

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To read the full report, click here: Annual Report on the pharmaceuticals industry of Pakistan 2017

For media inquiries, contact saad@primeinstitute.org