KESC puts up a valiant battle and Union sells out to SCB

It is hopeless. But summers have always been hopeless in Karachi.

Atleast KESC is putting up a brave fight. Brave enough to win a billion rupees subsidy (as opposed to the 8 billion rupees subsidy in its prior incarnation) and the wrath of the entire city. Despite the issues and the problems and the challenges, I say that they have still done an admirable job with what they have and if the city would only listen to them, we will get through this summer and the ones that will follow.

Standard Chartered goes out and buy Union bank for 500 million US dollars. No not a typo; a bank one fourth the size of HBL goes for 100 million dollars more, less than a year later. Together the combined entity will weigh in at 4 billion dollars in balance sheet size and atleast 200 million dollars in earnings. All the more interesting since the original investors only put in 12 million dollars in 1999 to earn a 30 bagger return 7 years later.

For all of you out there, I will take two million dollars in funding now... please. Only cross cheques drawn on a Pakistani bank accepted.