Frontier is making a fortune in Pakistani property; shares jump 15pc

Pic: Justin Paget / DigitalVision via Getty Images

Property investors might be gloomy here in Australia — but real estate is going off in Pakistan according to ASX-listed Frontier Digital Ventures.

Frontier’s Pakistan property portal Zameen is growing so quickly it’s said “thanks but no thanks” to more money.

Zameen is one of Pakistan’s first tech startups to make it big, growing revenue by 111 per cent in the first three months of 2018.

As a result it’s decreased the amount of money it’s asking from the second half of a $5 million funding round.

Frontier (ASX:FDV) — which has a portfolio of online classifieds businesses in emerging countries — sank $750,000 into the Pakistani venture in January and was on the hook for another $750,000 in the middle of this year to maintain a 30 per cent shareholding.

One lucky renter will be the new lessee of this purple-lit flat in Karachi. Pic: Zameen

But it only needs to spend $450,000 and keeps a third of company. Frontier says Zameen has grown in value from $US150 million in November to $US220,000 today — based on revenue growth.

Frontier invests in likely-looking tech startups in out of the way places. There’s property in Paraguay, ecommerce in Tanzania, and cars in Myanmar.

They got out of the Democratic Republic of Congo last year.

Frontier shares opened up 15 per cent at 73.5c.