Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Pakistan's paradox: bombs, blood and record profits

Pakistan's paradox: bombs, blood and record profits
By Mark Bendeich; Reuters - January 10, 2008

KARACHI (Reuters) - A little more than six years ago, immediately after the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities, few sane investment advisers would have recommended Pakistani stocks.

They should have. Their clients could have made a fortune.

Since 2001, the nuclear-armed South Asian country, blamed for spawning generations of Islamic militants and threatening global security, has been making millionaires like newly minted coins.

As Western governments have fretted about Pakistan's nuclear weapons falling into the hands of militants, the Karachi Stock Exchange's main share index has risen more than 10-fold.

And it is not just that Karachi is a thinly traded market, able to be dragged skyward at time by speculators. Profits have taken off as well.

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