With investor confidence suffering in the face of Pakistan’s energy crisis and security issues, it is little wonder that inward FDI is faltering. But the country also offers the possibility of great returns for those willing to accept the risks

As the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – realise the decade-old prediction that they would become economic superpowers, attention now turns to the global economies that will follow them.

Across central Asia, from China to Kazakhstan, economies are set to benefit from the re-opening of trade routes along the historic Silk Road. Significant investment has already been made to improve the infrastructure along the route, but further investment, more cohesion between the central Asian countries involved and more politically stability in the region as a whole is needed if this great passageway between Asia and Europe is to return to its former glory.