Comment by Riaz Haq on April 10, 2017 at 4:34pm

Strategy 2017 Pakistan Equities 

Arif Habib 

Currently the market is trading at forward PE ratio of 9.1, a discount of 22% and 34% to MSCI Emerging Market and Asia Pacific 

http://arifhabibltd.com/downloads/PakistanStrategy2017.pdf

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 30, 2017 at 5:22pm

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE > BUSINESS
Pakistan’s freelancing industry is thriving

By Parvez IftikharPublished: October 30, 2017

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1544773/2-export-earnings-pakistans-fr...

Minister of State for IT Anusha Rehman, together with Ignite CEO Yusuf Hussain, recently announced the ‘DigiSkills’ Program that “would help the youth of the country to earn a reasonable livelihood as freelancers”.

The country-wide programme to train a million freelancers is ambitious and challenging. A somewhat similar endeavour, called ‘eRozgar’, was launched by Punjab IT Board Chairman Dr Umar Saif earlier this year.

The PITB had announced that it would be running a co-working space to train 10,000 young women and men with the help of experienced freelancers in different parts of Punjab. The MoIT’s programme is much larger in scope covering the entire country, albeit with an online, rather than physical, delivery mechanism. Both, however, appear to be great initiatives.

The biggest freelancing website (Freelancer.com) ranks Pakistan as the 3rd largest country internationally in terms of user numbers. As informed by Helma Kasuma of Freelancer.com, out of 25 million registered users, nearly a million are from Pakistan.

UpWork.com regretted that they do not show their total numbers breakdown by country. But in 2015, a report released by them stated that Pakistan was the 5th biggest country in terms of user numbers, with the US in first place followed by India. Predominantly, employers who hire Pakistani freelancers are based abroad, mostly in USA, UK, and Australia. Thus, freelancing contributes to “export-earnings”. According to some, freelancers from Pakistan earn close to a billion dollars in a year. However, one must hasten to add that this is not based on any proper study or research. Perhaps, the Ministry of IT should embark upon one.


But all these “successes” have so far been achieved without freelancing being recognised as a profession. Enterprising Pakistani young men and women have been doing wonders exclusively on their own – without any opportunities to get trained, or even formally learn from each other.

In order to provide employment to many more Pakistanis, and to increase their earnings, there are numerous important skills that need to be taught (including soft skills like better English). This is where schemes like DigiSkills and eRozgar come in. One hopes that these initiatives will help turn millions of educated countrymen into productive individuals.

Comment by Riaz Haq on February 1, 2018 at 12:16pm

#Pakistan PM Abbasi inaugurates Digi Skills program for #ICT #training of youth. #digital #technology

https://www.geo.tv/latest/179759-pm-abbasi-inaugurates-digi-skills-...

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the Digi Skills programme on Thursday, aimed at imparting ICT training to one million youth through online modules.

Addressing the ceremony, the Prime Minister said the present government has delivered in many fields by building motorways, ports, airports and power plants but the advancement in information technology sector is its most important contribution in the last five years.

The premier said that the Digi Skills programme will equip youth to get online jobs and earn money in a non-traditional manner. He said that he has full faith in the youth of the country and expressed confidence that women in particular will lead in e-commerce and digital skills.

The world is changing fast due to a revolution in information technology, he noted, adding that it is the government's responsibility to fully facilitate the private sector to take initiative and lead the way.

He said that the government on its part remains committed to ensuring availability of broadband in every inch of the country.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunications Anusha Rehman hailed the Digi Skills program as an important step forward in the sector. She said the program will create online employment opportunities to enable youth to earn 200 to 300 dollars per month.

She further pointed out that Pakistan is emerging as an IT leader in the world, and with the help of this program, youth from across the country will be providing their services to the entire world.

Comment by Riaz Haq on July 15, 2018 at 10:42am

Pakistan 4th most popular country for freelancing: report

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/06/26/pakistan-4th-most-po...

Pakistan is among the top five countries in the world when it comes to freelancing and generated a significant calculated amount of $0.5 billion entirely from freelancing.

Pakistan is ranked as the 4th most popular country for freelancing in the Online Labor Index published in 2017 by Oxford Internet Institute (OII) and is consistently ranked among the top destinations for Internet Communications and Technology (ICT) outsourcing as a result of the exponential growth of the IT sector. Pakistan has got the fourth position globally in the category of Software Development and Technology.

Talking to the media, a ministry official said, the calculated revenue is $0.5 billion but in reality, it is more than this amount. The framework for e-commerce is not implemented yet, and after the implementation of an official, state-backed framework, it would be channelised to contribute to the national exchequer.

He said many universities in Pakistan are offering software and IT degrees and due to demand of this field many individuals have chosen to opt for ever-growing field.

Many people work from home and earn a good amount. Many people in Pakistan manage to freelance with their regular jobs to make a good amount of money, he added.

He informed that the first, second and third positions are acquired by India, Bangladesh and United States respectively. The largest overall supplier of online labour according to the data, is the traditional outsourcing destination – India, which is home to 24 per cent of the workers observed. According to report, Pakistan is home to 9 per cent of total freelancers.

Comment by Riaz Haq on August 10, 2019 at 10:39pm

Pakistan gig economy growth is the fastest in Asia and 4th fastest in the world. 


Pakistan gig economy growth of 47% is the world's 4th fastest after US (78%), UK (59%) and Brazil (48%). 

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/the-10-countries-with-the-fastest-g...

Technology has made it easier than ever for individuals to boost their earnings with profitable side-gigs. And while U.S. workers of all ages are reaping the greatest rewards, young freelancers across Asia are quickly getting in on the act.

That’s according to a new report from digital payments platform Payoneer, which has highlighted the world’s fastest-growing freelance markets and how they’re reshaping the nature of work.

America’s gig economy saw the greatest growth in 2019, with freelancer earnings up 78% year-on-year, according to the Global Gig-Economy Index released Tuesday. The study draws on data from more than 300,000 freelance workers within Payoneer’s network.

The world’s largest economy was followed by the U.K. and Brazil, which each saw a jump in gig worker earnings over the past year, up 59% and 48%, respectively. However, it was Asia that recorded the greatest regional growth, with earnings up 138% across four countries.

That charge was led by Pakistan, which saw a 47% increase in freelancer revenues in the past year. It was joined in the top 10 by Philippines, India and Bangladesh.

Here’s the top 10 list of freelance markets in 2019 based on year-on-year revenue growth.

Top 10 countries for freelancers
1. United States - 78%

2. United Kingdom - 59%

3. Brazil - 48%

4. Pakistan - 47%

5. Ukraine - 36%

6. Philippines - 35%

7. India - 29%

8. Bangladesh - 27%

9. Russia - 20%

10. Serbia - 19%

A shifting workforce
The boost in revenues over the past year is due in part to improved perceptions over the viability of such freelance work, according to Iain McNicoll, vice president and regional head for the Americas at Payoneer.

“We’re seeing more and more professionals leaving their jobs to join the gig economy,” said McNicoll.

“Whether it’s the flexible hours, the absence of a manager looking over your shoulder or the desire to build up your own business, workers don’t feel the need to be tied to their offices anymore.”

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