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If you mention travel in Pakistan and India, Americans often think about safety. I'm in my fifth week of travel in Pakistan and recently spent three years living in India. The best safety tip for business travelers is a local cell phone with numbers added to its address book for people whom you are be going to meet. If you or your driver become lost and you cannot communicate properly, simply call up the person you are to meet and ask him or her to provide directions to you or your driver.
Re: Travel Safety Tips for Pakistan, India
Posted by: gujarat2002 2005-03-08 12:48:52 In reply to: Anthony Mitchell
I agree with Mr. Mitchell. I lot of people in the US don't understand the difference between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Just because we keep hearing a lot about the Pak-Afghan border in the news, we think of the two being similar. Quite the contrary.
--> Pakitan is huge country that shares a border with India on the east, Iran on the west, Afghanistan on the north-west and China in the north.
--> With a strong 160-Million population, Pakistan is potentially a big market.
--> In recent years Pakistan has seen a Telecom Revolution. Just as little as a few years ago, cell phone users in Pakistan were about 3 Million. Currently, this figure has soared to 10 Million and with Telecom Norway and Warid Telecom (UAE) just launching services, cell usage is all set to double to 20 Million in the next 2 years.
-->Telecom Norway and Warid Telecom both paid about $300 Million for cell phone licences for Pakistan besides the existing Orascom Telecom and UFone renewing for the same amount. The competition for the market share is just heating up.
-->Singapore Telecom, Telecom Malaysia are among the leading bidders for a 26% stake in Pakistan's biggest landline phone company, PTCL, for about $1.5 Billion.
--> Pakistan's KSE Stock Market has soared to an all-record high 9000 points. With a market capitalization rocketing to approx. $40 Billion, this is one market to watch.
--> Pakistan's economy grew by 6.4% in 2004. This year the economy is all set to grow at 7.5%.
--> Pakistan this year became the second largest cotton producer behind China with 15 million bales. Cotton products being one of Pakistan's biggest export ($10 Billion a year), this will certainly drive the economy further up.
--> Pakistan's IT Industry is still in its early stages. With Musharraf Administration's open business policies, big companies are slowly coming to Pakistan. The current Software Export target set by Pakistan Soft. Houses Assocation is about $500-700 Million for 2005.
All these figures are positive indicators and show the investor confidence in the country.
--> Pakitan is huge country that shares a border with India on the east, Iran on the west, Afghanistan on the north-west and China in the north.
--> With a strong 160-Million population, Pakistan is potentially a big market.
--> In recent years Pakistan has seen a Telecom Revolution. Just as little as a few years ago, cell phone users in Pakistan were about 3 Million. Currently, this figure has soared to 10 Million and with Telecom Norway and Warid Telecom (UAE) just launching services, cell usage is all set to double to 20 Million in the next 2 years.
-->Telecom Norway and Warid Telecom both paid about $300 Million for cell phone licences for Pakistan besides the existing Orascom Telecom and UFone renewing for the same amount. The competition for the market share is just heating up.
-->Singapore Telecom, Telecom Malaysia are among the leading bidders for a 26% stake in Pakistan's biggest landline phone company, PTCL, for about $1.5 Billion.
--> Pakistan's KSE Stock Market has soared to an all-record high 9000 points. With a market capitalization rocketing to approx. $40 Billion, this is one market to watch.
--> Pakistan's economy grew by 6.4% in 2004. This year the economy is all set to grow at 7.5%.
--> Pakistan this year became the second largest cotton producer behind China with 15 million bales. Cotton products being one of Pakistan's biggest export ($10 Billion a year), this will certainly drive the economy further up.
--> Pakistan's IT Industry is still in its early stages. With Musharraf Administration's open business policies, big companies are slowly coming to Pakistan. The current Software Export target set by Pakistan Soft. Houses Assocation is about $500-700 Million for 2005.
All these figures are positive indicators and show the investor confidence in the country.
