Tech Lahore

TechLahore’s Predictions for 2008

emerald.jpgHere is a list of our predictions for 2008. While most of these predictions have to do with technology and IT companies in Pakistan, some of them are political. We’ll circle back on Jan 1 2009 to see how accurate our crystal ball was; until then, we’d love to hear your opinions!

  1. Macroeconomic Predictions
    1. GDP growth for next year will be around 5%, plus or minus .5%.
    2. The KSE will hit 15,000 in 2008.
    3. The Pak Rs. will exchange between 60 and 63 to US $1 through 2008.
  2. Predictions about the Local Industry
    1. There will be a change of leadership at the PITB or the PSEB (at least one of the two) in 2008.
    2. PTCL will continue to lose landline customers in 2008; financial problems will continue especially during Q1 and Q2 ‘08.
    3. The Punjab IT STP Tower will not be completed in time; it will be delayed by at least 3 months.
    4. WiMax will not be much of a success for Wateen in 2008; consumers will find it too expensive and corporations will stick mostly to wired broadband. Coverage will not be wide enough to truly benefit remote industry operations that don’t have wired broadband access readily.
    5. NetSol stock will not close at or above $4.50 for 10 consecutive trading sessions in 2008.
    6. 2008 will be an excellent year for Media Companies in Pakistan; they will see increased freedom, a growing viewership and an increased global footprint. As a corollary, Wordcall stock will rise at least 15% in 2008.
    7. 2008 will be the beginning of the end for dialup ISPs. As PTCL loses fixed line subscribers, WLL connections and broadband will become methods of choice for Internet access. Dialup user growth rates will slow in 2008 and the reversal will set in during 2009-2010.
    8. Power companies, professional services companies dealing with power and local power generation equipment manufacturers will see tremendous growth; electricity shortages will persist through 2008, but the situation will begin to remedy itself in early 2009. Shortages will propel the alternative energy and Natural Gas (CNG) based generator industry.
    9. Software licenses will be strongly enforced; it will be virtually impossible for any company with 40+ employees to not comply with licensing – in particular Microsoft licensing. This will drive some increased Linux adoption, but not in any significant measure.
  3. Political Predictions
    1. The PPP and allies will form the next government in Pakistan
    2. Pakistan will have a new President in 2008, or at most, by the first quarter of 2009
    3. Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination and will win the 2008 election in the US

14 Responses

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  1. mohtashim said, on January 3, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    the political stuffs right on the dot. i also think pitb might have a new head

  2. Mohsin Naeem said, on January 6, 2008 at 4:14 pm

    I dont think hilary will be able to beet Obama

  3. techlahore said, on January 9, 2008 at 5:05 am

    She just won NH, so I wouldn’t write her off…

  4. Jawwad said, on January 10, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    [...] Building up on the predictions at Tech Lahore [...]

  5. Desi Back to desh » Predictions for 2008 said, on January 10, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    [...] Building up on predictions for 2008 at Tech Lahore [...]

  6. techlahore said, on January 16, 2008 at 7:56 am

    And a few moments ago, Hillary won Michigan too. So Obama is a clear second now.

  7. [...] 20, 2008 · No Comments Remember one of the predictions we made in December? That Worldcall stock would rise at least 15% in 2008? Well, you can call that a slam dunk and here’s a high five! Omantel has just bought [...]

  8. techlahore said, on February 20, 2008 at 2:18 am

    Three of the predictions listed above came true today;

    1) The PPP and allies will form the next gov
    2) WordCall will jump by at least 15%
    3) The KSE will hit a historic high in the first half of 2008 – it just did, closing at 14,749 on the 19th of Feb, 2008

    How about that???

  9. [...] increasingly, smaller IT shops are complying with licensing requirements. You may remember, that we predicted back in January that 2008 was going to be a big year for anti-piracy drives. We continue to think that in the next [...]

  10. [...] the eve of Dec 31st, 2007 I was writing TechLahore’s predictions for 2008, many of which have come to pass. One of the items I listed was that piracy in Pakistan is on its [...]

  11. [...] reduce rates and improve service. Currently, Wateen has the run of the house and to be honest, our December 2007 prediction is going to end up being on the mark; 2008 was not the take-off year for Wateen’s WiMAX, but [...]

  12. [...] and Society, SW Industry, Telecom by techlahore on January 1st, 2009 Exactly a year ago, I published a list of economic, IT and political predictions for 2008. I guess I didn’t do very badly, but [...]

  13. [...] year, I listed out a set of predictions and just recently I evaluated how they turned out. But on to more important business: what’s [...]

  14. [...] year, I listed out a set of predictions and just recently I evaluated how they turned out. But on to more important business: what’s [...]


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