Category: Business

Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi elected unopposed chairman PVMA for the term 2021-22.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The 347^th meeting of the PVMA executive committee was held on Saturday in Islamabad to elect the office barriers for the year 2021-22. The executive committee un-opposed Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi for the slot of chairmanship.Likewise Sheikh Amjad Rasheed and Sheikh Kashif Razzaq elected unopposed as senior vice chairman and vice chairman respectively.

Mr. Abdul Waheed outgoing chairman announced the results. Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi is assuming the charge for second time from 1^st October 2021.

Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi being seasoned and experienced businessman assures to utilize his full potential to resolve the problems currently faced by the industry.

Other members of the executive committee elected for the term 2021-23 are Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh, Mian M. Ashfaq Malik,Mr. Hassan Munawar, Mr. M Muneeb Monnoo, Mr. Anjum Rehmat, Mr. haseeb ur Rehman, Mr. Nasir Saleem, Sh Amjad Rasheed,Mr. Ehtisham Javaid, Raja Abubakar Farooq.

The Edible oil sector of Pakistan, comprising of 137 units, manufactures 4.5 million M. tons of Banaspati and Cooking Oil to meet annual national demand. The sector also contributes handsomely in national exchequer in terms of duty and taxes, hence placed in top five revenue spinners of Pakistan.

 

 

 

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Samsung is all set to establish its TV line-up plant in Pakistan according to a tweet by advisor to the prime minister on commerce and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood. The plant will be collaboration with R&R Industries in Karachi which will produce the TV sets for the South Korean company which has established itself as a global leader.

The plant “will become functional in Q4 of 2021 and is expected to produce 50,000 units annually,” tweeted Dawood. “This is a vindication of MOC’s “Make-in-Pakistan” policy for industrialization via rationalization of input costs and other incentives,” he added.

In July, the South Korean company had signed an agreement with Lucky Motor Corporation to begin manufacturing its phones in Pakistan. Samsung’s decision to assemble phones in Pakistan was an indication of the success of the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (MDMP) launched by the government in June 2020.

The vision of the policy was clear that by 2022, 80% of all mobile phones sold in Pakistan should be locally manufactured. Last year in August, Prime Minister Imran Khan had declared that the government was vigorously pursuing a Make-in-Pakistan policy to promote export-oriented industrialization in the country.

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Islamabad (NUT-DESK):

Bahria Town Management and AAA Associates hosted a seminar on “awareness of FATF regulations and registration” on 17th September, 2021. The event was organized at Pearl Continent, Rawalpindi. The honorable chief guests on this auspicious occasion were Directors HQ Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Nasir Ahmed, and Zafar Iqbal, President Realtor Federation Sardar Tahir and Chairman Realtor Federation Musarat Ejaz Khan.

Pakistan has been on the FATF’s grey list for strategic deficiencies in its counter-terror financing, anti-money laundering and proliferation financing rules since June 2018. The Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions has sought cooperation of real estate associations all over the country to meet requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in relation to non-financial businesses and professions to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. The seminar aimed to assist Estate builders regarding the new regulations and hoped that Estate Builders would continue to comply with the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) laws and regulations.

The guest speakers Directors HQ Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Nasir Ahmed and Zafar Iqbal apprised members of real estate associations about the FATF’s requirements in relation to DNFBPs and called for collective efforts of the government and real estate agents to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Ejaz Khan and Sardar Tahir, Chairman and President of the Federation of Realtors Pakistan, and office bearers of Real Estate Associations partook in the seminar and assured the builders about the positive aspects of these regulations.

In this seminar various estate builders from twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi participated. The sole purpose of the event was to address challenges pertaining to construction industry amid FATF crises.The seminar was followed by delightful dinner.

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Lahore(NUT-DESK)

Facebook is rolling out new ways for businesses to find and chat with potential customers on its apps, the social media company said Thursday, as it seeks to become an online shopping destination.

The new features will help Facebook, already a leader in digital advertising, offer personalised shopping experiences to its users, said Karandeep Anand, vice president of business products at Facebook.

Businesses will now be able to add a button on their Instagram profiles to let people send a WhatsApp message to the company with one click.

Integrating WhatsApp is particularly important for customers in countries such as India and Brazil, where the Facebook-owned messaging app is widely used, Anand said.

Facebook said it will begin testing the ability for brands to send emails through Facebook Business Suite, a feature that lets businesses manage their presence across the social media site’s apps, in order to simplify how companies reach customers.

It will also test new work accounts to let employees manage business pages without needing to log in with their personal accounts.

The new business tools come a day after WhatsApp began testing a new feature in São Paulo, Brazil, to let users find shops and services through a directory in the app for the first time, part of an effort to bolster ecommerce on the service.

 

Lahore (NUT-DESK)
World famous messaging WhatsApp has announced the business directory to quickly find local businesses within WhatsApp. “This feature may not be available to you right now, but it will be rolled out for more people later,” WABetainfo wrote.

In order to bolster e-commerce on its services, a new test has been rolled out which allows users to find shops and services through a directory in the app.

“This could be…the primary way that people start a commerce process in WhatsApp,” Matt Idema, Facebook’s vice president of business messaging, said in an interview with Reuters this week.
WhatsApp, unlike Facebook and Instagram, does not run ads in its app. Idema said previously businesses were promoting their WhatsApp numbers on packaging or websites or using Facebook ads to bring users into chats on WhatsApp. The messaging service has increasingly courted business users, with a specialised app for small firms and an API, or type of software interface, for larger businesses to connect their systems, which generates revenue.

As online retail has continued to boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook has pushed in-app shopping features across its apps. In June, Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s Shops feature would expand to WhatsApp in several countries. In recent years, WhatsApp also has also launched shopping tools like product catalogues and shopping carts.

WhatsApp said the new test would include thousands of businesses in categories like food, retail and local services across certain São Paulo neighbourhoods. Idema said India and Indonesia were good next candidates to expand the feature.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Apple has phased out some of its older iPhone models after it announced new iPhone 13 on September 14. Apple revealed the iPhone 13 alongside an upgraded iPad, a revamped iPad mini, and a refresh to the Apple Watch. Among other updates, the new iPhones have an A15 Bionic processor, longer battery life, and an improved camera designed for cinematic videos.

Preorders for the iPhone 13 will be available starting September 17, and the device will be officially released on September 24. Though Apple customers now have several new phones to choose from, visitors to Apple’s online store no longer have the option to purchase select models from last year.

Discontinued Apple iPhone models

After the iPhone 13 launch event, Apple removed the iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPhone XR from its online store. These models join the iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus which were all discontinued last year.

Although Apple no longer sells these older iPhones through its online store, you may still be able to purchase them from select phone carriers or third party retailers.

iPhone models currently available for purchase

The iPhone models that are currently available to buy or preorder on the Apple store include:

• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone SE
• iPhone 11

The new iPhone 13 models range in price from $700 to $1,100, but budget-friendly options are available if you choose to purchase iPhones from an older generation.

For example, the iPhone SE starts at $400, and the iPhone 11 starts at $500. Customers who purchase an iPhone 11 from Best Buy with a new Verizon account or line activation can even snag the device for a deal price of $150.

 

LAHOR(NUT-DESK)

The member company of Pakistan-China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Ecommerce Gateway (Pvt) Limited has entered into the partnership deed with Alibaba.com. S M Naveed, President PCJCCI felicitated the members for this agreement and hoped that it will help local SMEs to penetrate in Chinese market through Alibaba’s platform.

While addressing a gathering he said that this agreement will further help Pakistan-based small and medium-sized businesses to bolster their digital presence and expand their sales internationally.

He further added that it will overcome the constraints brought by the Covid-19 pandemic. The meeting held to acknowledge the services of Ecommerce Gateway, attended by S M Naveed, President PCJCCI, Daud Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Khalid Raffique Choudhry, Vice President, and Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General and Uzair Nizaam, Co-Founder Ecommerce Gateway.

Daud Ahmed, Senior Vice President said that Ecommerce Pvt Ltd will become Alibaba’s official channel partner in Pakistan, helping Pakistani exporters / sellers to gain access to the 150 million buyers from over 200 countries and regions on the platform.

On this occasion, President of Pak China Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCJCCI), S M Naveed said that the outbreak of Covid-19 has had a severe impact on businesses in the export sector, especially SMEs, many of which lack an online presence and are still largely reliant on physically attending tradeshows to showcase their products.

Daud Ahmed, Senior Vice President PCJCCI said that the ongoing pandemic has caused many events scaled down, rescheduled, or even cancelled, the Ecommerce Pvt Ltd and Alibaba partnership aims to help Pakistani small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reach customers and business partners around the world in an efficient and cost-effective way.”

Muhammad Uzair Nizam, Co-founder Ecommerce Pvt Ltd shared his views by saying that “As Alibaba’s official channel partner, Ecommerce Gateway (Pvt) Ltd will help these SMEs assess how Alibaba can benefit them and assist them in navigating the platform’s variety of services, including everything from registration, setting up and running their online stores, to conducting online marketing campaigns together with certified Alibaba partners.

Salahuddin Hanif, Secretary General PCJCCI said that Ecommerce Gateway (Pvt) Ltd is one of the leading Web & IT Service providers in the region. Since its establishment in 2018 Ecommerce (Pvt) Ltd has entered into various national, international, and government based ventures and completed them successfully. Ecommerce Private Limited is the sister concern of Ecommerce Gateway Pakistan Private Limited (since 2000) the largest Trade Fair Owners & Organizers, Group & U.S Publishers Private Limited the owners of Jamal’s Yellow Pages of Pakistan the official Yellow Pages of Pakistan (since 1983). The group brings combined experience of 39 years of facilitating B2B Exporters & Importers through various services.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal said on Tuesday that investment opportunities in Punjab would be highlighted through Dubai Expo and the government would also showcase its cultural and trade activities in the mega trade event to be held in November this year. He was presiding over a meeting of steering committee regarding Dubai Expo arrangements here at Civil Secretariat.

The meeting reviewed arrangements and budget proposals for participation in Dubai Expo. On this occasion, CEO Punjab Investment Board Dr Erfa Iqbal briefed about the arrangements of Punjab participation in Dubai Expo. The Minister directed all the relevant departments to finalize their arrangements for Dubai Expo. He said that investment, conference, seminars, panel discussions and other events would be organised in Dubai Expo.

Provincial Minister Finance Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakhat said that state-of-the-art documentaries would be prepared for exploring the investment opportunities in different areas of Punjab.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Kia Lucky Motors has confirmed that it will be launching its subcompact SUV Kia Stonic late next month but demurred from sharing the price range due to the currency exchange rate volatility.

“We don’t want to predict the price,” said a company official. “You never know where the dollar would go next month.” Just yesterday, the dollar hit a record high in Pakistan at Rs168.94.

There is a reason for Kia Lucky’s reluctance to talk prices given the dollar-rupee dance. Pakistan’s auto industry is heavily dependent on imported car parts, especially new entrants such as Kia, which have not localized car parts much. So, when the dollar rate goes up, their cost of production goes up and vice versa. According to some estimates, some cars are made of 70% imported parts, called CKDs (completely knocked down units).

Nevertheless, given what is available in the market and of what they know of the industry, experts were ready to speculate on the price. Auto sector expert Usman Ansari said that he expects the SUV Stonic price to be kept in the range of Rs2.8 million and Rs3.3 million to ensure it competes with the sedan car segment of Honda City, Toyota Yaris, Changan Alsvin and Proton Saga.

“But there’s no direct competition to Kia Stonic in Pakistan,” said Ansari. “It’s just a bit bigger than the Suzuki Swift but smaller than the Nissan Juke subcompact SUV,” he explained. “It will be a unique segment car in Pakistan. It may be that its USP (Unique Selling Proposition) will help it sell.”

The Stonic comes in petrol engine sizes of 1000cc, 1200cc and 1400cc and a diesel engine option is offered in the 1600cc.

In addition to the Stonic, Kia Lucky is slated to launch its Peugeot 2008 (pronounced as poojauw) in December this year. It is a car made by French PSA Group with petrol variants coming in 1200cc and 1600cc size engines and diesel variants in 1400cc and 1600cc. Expectations are that both petrol variants will be launched and most likely the lower one for Stonic and higher of Peugeot 2008 to keep the market separate for each vehicle.  “Peugeot 2008 is a bit of a bigger compact SUV than Stonic, but slightly smaller than the Kia Sportage,” Ansari said.

“The Peugeot 2008 price may be between Rs3.6 and Rs4.1 million,” thinks Ansari. “The company would not want its own cars to compete between themselves especially on the price factor.”

According to reports, the 2000cc Sportage is Kia’s top selling car in Pakistan despite catering to the high-end segment. The car has been the first crossover SUV in Pakistan. But the segment has now seen mushroom growth as Hyundai, MG Motors, Sazgar Group, Regal Automobiles and Proton have all launched crossovers in the category.