State-Diaspora Relations: A Capital Markets Perspective through the Naya Pakistan Certificate (NPC)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to contextualize the economic importance of the Pakistani diaspora through the lens of the newly promised Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), which are high-yield fixed-income investments targeted at overseas Pakistanis as a means of spurring domestic development through the proactive participation of the diaspora. The paper highlights key limitations in the approach behind NPCs, arguing that such high and discriminatory rates in a global low-interest rate environment with fewer opportunities for quick domestic deployment of capital indicates that the diaspora is indeed being “fetishized” as a driver of development. This helps inform state-diaspora
relations through a capital markets perspective.

Keywords: investment, FDI, community, fixed-income, development, Pakistan