The frontier market ready to burst onto the EM scene

'Perception differs from reality'

Pakistan is an example of a classic frontier market where "perception differs from reality", and as confidence in the country's demographics and politics improves, it is fast becoming one of the most attractive markets to invest in globally, according to fund managers.

Political instability and limited business opportunities have been a staple of Pakistan over the past 20 years, deterring potential investors but this is changing and the rapidly developing market is set to be upgraded by the MSCI to emerging market status in May this year. Over the past few years, a number of factors have enabled growth in the market; the government has focused on raising revenue through taxes, investing heavily in power in terms of both capacity and reliability, improving security and incentivised investment through the lowering of interest rates.  In addition, the ...