The restoration of the ancient Silk Road intends to reconnect China with Africa, the Middle East, and Europe through a railway network, airports, roads, seaports, and an optical fiber system. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has three components. One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is based upon two parts of the BRI; the maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road economic belt. OBOR is based upon six economic corridors. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the smartest corridor under OBOR, which passes only through Pakistan, and after completion, will provide a safe and cheap route for China to import oil and energy. CPEC is a multidimensional project under which much infrastructure development initiative has been started to improve the infrastructure and economic development of Pakistan. Infrastructure development is an essential requirement in economic growth, one which further leads to industrialization and is helpful in economic development. The present study was conducted in Pakistan and explored how infrastructure development under the CPEC is useful for the sustainable development of Pakistan, as well as which kind of infrastructure development projects have been included in the CPEC to improve the socio-economic paradigm of Pakistan. A sample of 500 respondents was selected through a multistage sampling technique from the two-node cities. A questionnaire survey was used to collect primary data. The results of the study show that the CPEC is a catalyst for Pakistan to improve its socio-economic conditions and to achieve sustainable development. The participants of the survey agreed that CPEC will improve the socio-economic paradigm of Pakistan and will be helpful in the achievement of sustainable development goals.

In the current era of globalization and competitive edge, the survival of newly established ventures has become a big challenge. Numerous studies have been carried out to discover factors that are essential for newly initiated ventures but the results are still fragmented. This study focuses on measuring the effect of entrepreneurial strategy, network ties, human capital and financial capital on new venture performance. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 196 registered firms located in the emerging market Pakistan. The results indicate that entrepreneurial strategy, network ties and financial capital have a significant positive effect, while human capital showed an insignificant effect on new venture performance. This research recommends owners and managers of new firms build effective entrepreneurial strategies, expand their networks with external bodies (other firms, government and financial institutions) to acquire useful resources that in turn can spur their performance. Further implications are discussed. Policy makers and responsible authorities are advised to encourage and support new ventures which in turn can contribute to GDP and economic development. Practical implications and suggestions are also discussed.

This study aims to investigate the impact of the ownership hierarchy on the retention of cash. Ownership structure has dissimilar from each organization as some firms have surplus cash holdings and some firms have fewer cash holdings. This study examines the pattern of shareholding in Pakistan and its consequences on holding of cash. Trade-off theory, peaking-order theory, and agency theory have already hashed out the sensation between cash holding and ownership structure. Fixed Redundant likelihood test, Hausman Test and Panel Data Regression model are used to compute the final results. This study involves 74 non-financial firms to investigate the prime effects. The data have been taken from the biggest database of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100 index Pakistan and company financial reports from the period 2006 to 2017. Significant findings of this paper are based on two different research questions. First, how the pattern of shareholding has an impact on the decision of cash holding? Second, how the boundaries of the firm affect cash holding? These findings imply that cash holding and ownership structure are a vital element of the firm’s financial policy. This paper concludes that there is a negative and substantial relationship between cash holding and the pattern of shareholdings and the boundaries of the firm have an imperative effect on the holding of cash.