Now's the Time to Buy Those Pakistan ADRs

After hitting post-assassination lows Thursday, experiencing drops between 9-10% on top of the 4%-plus they had undergone on Wednesday, Pakistani ADRs appear to have overcome the primary bearish pressure unleashed on the Karachi stock exchange by the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

ADRs averaged rebounds of 4.5% Friday. We had last updated you on this short-term buying opportunity on Wednesday.

Electricity provider Hub Power Co. (HUPOF.PK) traded at $13 before the assassination, and clocked in at $12.53 on Friday. Top Pakistani banks MCB Bank Ltd. (MCBBI.PK) [$27.75, back at $24.75 Friday] and United Bank Ltd. (UDBKL.PK) [$11.86/$11.39], Oil & Gas Development Co. Ltd. (ODVCI.PK) [$20.56/$19.22] have all clawed back toward recent highs. Already battered telecommunications giant Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (PKTMF.PK) recovered least of all, $73/$65.64.

We believe that PakTel and MCB Bank in particular still represent attractive buying opportunities, as the Karachi stock exchange slowly grinds back into its bullish tracks by late winter.

Comments

[lefty]

Invest in an unstable country? I made that mistake several years ago.
Never again!

[Laura Cadden]

Hmmm, lefty. That's too bad. Because it looks like this Crisis Investing play worked out quite nicely! (Check the follow-up story on Seeking Alpha or at todaysfinancialnews.com )