Asia Pacific

A frontier market that was flirting with insolvency just three years ago, is now in rude health. Investment is flooding into Pakistan from China, the West and the Gulf, attracted by high returns, rising stability and an economy underpinned by strong growth figures and a pro-business government.

Chinese investment has transformed Pakistan as an FDI destination. With the number of terror attacks falling and the northern borders about be opened up, Pakistan will become a major trading nation in the decades ahead, further boosting inflows of investment capital.

Pakistan is set to become one of the world’s great economies, benefiting the $46bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will link Beijing with the Indian Ocean overland for the first time. An influx of Chinese — and global — capital will boost growth and foreign direct investment, buoy the construction sector, and help transform Pakistan from a nation of separate and often fractured provinces, into a single, co-ordinated, consolidated country

Pakistan’s banking sector is in its best shape for years, as bad loan ratios fall, capital adequacy and profits rise, and new legislation allows lenders to process a logjam of bad assets that has long bedevilled the system

Pakistan has long been considered an energy-poor nation. But oil, gas and coal finds, offshore and onshore, and major new port facilities and pipelines stretching the length of the country, could be set to transform the South Asian sovereign into a major energy player of the new century.

Pakistan’s capital markets are back in business after a few lean years, with M&A deal volume and the Karachi Stock Exchange at record highs, and investors chasing yield in a country now promoted to MSCI ‘emerging market’ status. Rules passing through parliament are expected to underline the country’s reputation as a great place to do business

GlobalMarkets: Vietcombank’s stated ambition is to establish itself as the number one bank in Vietnam and one of the top 300 in the world. Very briefly, can you explain how Vietcombank will achieve this ambition?

Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the emerging market universe, and an increasingly popular magnet for investors looking to establish a hub in the ASEAN region. But explosive growth is creating a number of challenges.

Doosan Bobcat and its IPO advisers were left red-faced after the company was forced to pull its W2.4tr ($2.2bn) float in South Korea last week. The deal is making a quick comeback and the leads have done what they can to turn the situation around. But the incident serves as an object lesson in how not to do an IPO.

Philippine lender BDO Unibank issued its first dollar bond in four years on Monday, but found itself competing for investors' attention on a busy day of primary issuance.

China Resources Pharmaceutical Group is proving a hit with global investors, as its HK$15.7bn ($2.0bn) Hong Kong IPO is heavily oversubscribed, according to a banker at one of the leads.

Korea National Oil Corp priced a dual-tranche offering on Monday, selling a 10 year portion at a tighter spread than a five year, according to bankers.