By Khurrum Anis and Farhan Sharif - Dec 1, 2011 10:01 PM GMT+0300
People gather at a fountain at the Port Grand shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg
People stand in front of artwork displayed in a store at the Port Grand shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg
A member of the security personnel stands guard as visitors buy entry tickets at the main entrance to the Port Grand shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg
People walk outside the Port Grand shopping mall in Karachi, Pakistan. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg
Patrons place their orders at a Hardee's restaurant in Karachi. Hardee’s opened its first Karachi outlet in September: In the first few days, customers waited for hours. Photographer: Asim Hafeez/Bloomberg
One way to take a city’s economic pulse is to check out where locals shop. In Karachi, Pakistan, shoppers are flocking to Port Grand, which opened in May. Built as a promenade by the historic harbor for almost $23 million, the center caters to Pakistanis eager to indulge themselves.
This city of 20 million has seen more than 1,500 deaths from political and sectarian violence from January to August. At Port Grand the only hint of the turmoil is the presence of security details and surveillance cameras, Bloomberg Businessweek reported in its Dec. 5 issue.
“The whole world is going through a new security environment” says Shahid Firoz, 61, Port Grand’s developer. “We have to be very conscious of security just as any other significant facility anywhere in the world needs to be.”
Young people stroll the promenade eating burgers and fries and browsing through 60 stores and stalls that sell everything from high fashion to silver bracelets to ice cream. Ornate benches dot a landscaped area around a 150-year-old banyan tree. Prime MinisterSyed Yousuf Raza Gilani described the complex as “out of this world” and “like Dubai” in a Nov. 30 visit.
“Port Grand is something fresh for the city, very aesthetically pleasing and unique,” says Yasmine Ibrahim, a 25- year-old Lebanese American who is helping set up a student affairs office at a new university in Karachi.
One-third of Pakistan’s 170 million people are under the age of 15, which means the leisure business will continue to grow, says Naveed Vakil, head of research at AKD Securities. Per capita income has grown to $1,254 a year in June from $1,073 three years ago.
Strong Appetite
The appetite for things American is strong even as tensions mount between the two allies. Hardee’s opened its first Karachi outlet in September: In the first few days, customers waited for hours. It plans to open 10 more restaurants in Pakistan in the next two and a half years, says franchisee Imran Ahmed Khan.
U.S. movies are attracting crowds to the recently opened Atrium Cinemas, which would not be out of place in suburban Chicago. Current features include The Adventures of Tintin and the latest Twilight Saga installment. Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol is coming soon. Operator Nadeem Mandviwalla says the cinema industry in Pakistan is growing 30 percent a year.
Exposure to Western lifestyles through cable television and the Internet is raising demand for these goods and services. Pakistan has 20 million Internet users, compared with 133,900 a decade ago, while 25 foreign channels, such as CNN and BBC World News, are now available. And for many Pakistanis, reruns of the U.S. sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond are a regular treat.
To contact the reports on this story: Khurrum Anis in Karachi atKkhan14@bloomberg.net. Farhan Sharif in Karachi atFsharif2@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ellen Pollock atepollock@bloomberg.net.
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