Pak-Qatar Takaful Group Celebrates Qatar National Day 2019

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Embassy of the State of Qatar to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan held a reception hosted by His Excellency Saqr bin Mubarak Al-Mansouri, Ambassador of Qatar on the occasion of Qatar National Day.  Mr. Zahid Awan, CEO Pak-Qatar General Takaful attended this event and gave felicitations personally to the Ambassador of Qatar.

Senior officials from Pak-Qatar Takaful Group including Mr. Nasir Ali Syed, CEO Pak-Qatar Family Takaful, Mr. Muhammad Kamran Saleem, Director Finance, Pak-Qatar Takaful Group, Mr. Azeem I. Pirani, Deputy CEO, Pak-Qatar General Takaful, and others also celebrated Qatar National Day with Qatar Consulate event in Karachi.

Pak-Qatar Takaful proudly participated in this joyous occasion.  The ceremony was also attended by a number of ambassadors of Arab & foreign countries and a number of members of the diplomatic corps, ministers of state, regional ministers, members of the parliament & the Senate, a number of businessmen & directors of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry and senior officials of the state & Pakistani society.  During the ceremony, a number of cultural and media programs were played, as well as a special pavilion for publications that highlighted the various aspects of the renaissance and the State’s march and the achievements made in various fields.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited (PMKPL) and NOWPDP have joined hands in an effort to encourage employment of people with disabilities. This alliance aims to empower people with disabilities and to institutionalize inclusion in the workplace.

Under this project, PMPKL and NOWPDP have agreed to target three objectives Accessibility, Sensitization and Employment.

Philip Morris plans to undertake collaborative measures to ensure enhanced access for persons with disabilities by familiarizing them with the corporate environment along with traineeship and full time employment opportunities based on their merit and potential.

Inclusion trainings by NOWPDP for PMPKL employees are part of the plan to ensure employees are sensitized and equipped with the skills and knowledge required to interact and communicate with Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).

During a visit to NOWPDP, Director Communications Sadia Dada shared, “This collaboration is part of PMPKL’s efforts to enhance its social contribution. We are confident that through trainings, accessibility and skill matching, we are creating a sustainable model of inclusion in our workplace. The trainings are an excellent way to get employees on board and more than one hundred employees have already participated in the sessions. Plans to redesign our head office are already underway and the next phase will focus on employment opportunities.”

The redesign plans are based on the review by NOWPDP in collaboration with Institute of Architects Pakistan. PMPKL is also committed to build accessible facilities at its offices nationwide.

Faysal Bank and CDC signs MoU for Efficient Payment Mechanism

Lahore (Yasir Javed): on 24, 2019, Faysal Bank Limited & Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) signed  MoU to entered into an agreement for implementation of CDC’s Efficient Payment Mechanism (EPM) through Cash Management payment services of Faysal Bank. This agreement signing ceremony was recently held at the CDC House in the presence of senior management of both organizations.

Mr. Yousaf Hussain, President & CEO – Faysal Bank speaking at the occasion said, “We are delighted to partner with CDC in line with our resolve to digitize payments in order to improve overall efficiency. It is coherent with Faysal Bank’s strategy to offer cutting-edge solutions which mutually benefits both the bank and our esteemed clients. This collaboration is a testament to our on-going partnership with CDC, whereby in June 2017we jointly created history for first-ever electronic IPO (eIPO).”

Mr. Badiuddin Akber, CEO-CDC while congratulating Faysal Bank for integrating with CDC’s Efficient Payment Mechanism said. “This agreement is consistent with CDC’s renewed focus on digitalization and initiatives to increase ease of doing business. I have full confidence in a mutually beneficial business relationship with Faysal Bank that would add value to the CDC payments being done on behalf of Asset Management Companies (AMCs).”

New Nokia C1 Level up to a quality smartphone experience  

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, today announces the Nokia C1, a smartphone designed to entertain – anytime, anywhere. Featuring an impressive 5.45” display, fans can watch their favourite videos and listen to music with ease. With lighter apps and less bloatware, you are able to store up to 3,000 songs or 24 hours of videos for offline consumption, cutting down on data usage. Combined with all-day battery life[i], you’ll have enough power to keep you watching, listening and talking from sunrise to sunset.

Arif Shafique, Head of Near East, HMD Global said: “We are thrilled to welcome Nokia C1 to our fans in Pakistan. Nokia C1 is a smartphone that echoes Nokia brand’s values of quality, reliability and ease of use. This sleek device provides a seamless experience powered by AndroidTM 9 Pie (Go edition) for an optimized storage so our fans can enjoy their favourite content on the go. Nokia C1 is a truly unique affordable 3G alternative that offers a combination of a large 5.45” screen and all-day battery life”.

Lasting entertainment

Not only does the impressive 5.45” display let you immerse yourself in your favourite videos anywhere but coming with AndroidTM 9 Pie (Go edition), the Nokia C1 has fewer pre-installed apps and is designed to optimise storage, meaning you can keep more of your favourite content with you. The Nokia C1 comes with enough internal storage for up to 3,000 songs or up to 24 hours’ worth of videos and can be expanded with a micro SD card to up to 64GB for those that need more. Coming with 3G connectivity and all-day battery lifei, the Nokia C1 really is a go-to smartphone for entertainment, allowing you to keep the chat and apps going from sunrise to sunset.

Looks that stand out

The Nokia C1 stands out thanks to its stylish metallic finish. It’s built with a durable polycarbonate cover to withstand the knocks of everyday life and look good doing it. The removable cover gives you access to the battery if needed.

Capture and relive higher quality photos

Raise your selfie game with the front facing flash and 5MP camera, helping you get that perfect shot even after dark. Plus, you can now take and make video calls, be it day or night. Combined with a 5MP rear camera, you can snap memories in the moment. Point and shoot stunning photos with the auto-focus rear camera.

View and edit your memories offline with Gallery Go; a light, fast, and offline gallery optimised for your phone. Enjoy one-tap editing and easily relive all your memories with automatic organisation – even offline.

The Google Assistant buttonⁱⁱ – The fastest way to your Google Assistant

The Nokia C1 comes with easy access to helpful innovative services including the Google Assistant, helping you get things done throughout the day, even on the go. To get started, just press the Google Assistant button and you can find out the latest weather, news, sports information, call your family, play videos and more.

Android 9 Pie (Go edition): Ready. Set. Go.

Users can tap into new possibilities with Android 9 Pie (Go edition), enabling easy access to YouTube Go, helping you download, enjoy and share videos with limited storage or slower network speeds. This means you can watch your favourite videos offline, in addition to using helpful apps like Google Maps on the Google Play Store.

Android 9 Pie (Go edition) is built leaner, faster, and safer than ever before, so you can go bigger in everything you do. For example, Google Maps Go provides your location, real-time traffic updates and directions, plus train, bus, and city transit information. You can even search and find phone numbers, addresses, and information about millions of places.

 Pricing and availability

The Nokia C1 comes with 1GB RAM and 16 GBiii of internal storage and will be available in Black and Red from 1 January at a retail price of PKR 8500.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) BASF and an affiliate of Lone Star, a global private equity firm, signed a purchase agreement for the acquisition of BASF’s Construction Chemicals business. The purchase price on a cash and debt-free basis is €3.17 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.

“Our aim was to find a new home for our Construction Chemicals business where it can leverage its full potential,” said Saori Dubourg, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Construction Chemicals business. “Under the umbrella of Lone Star, the Construction Chemicals team can focus on a growth path with an industry-specific approach.”

“BASF’s Construction Chemicals business fits very well with our portfolio, complementing our investments in the construction materials industry,” said Donald Quintin, President of Europe at Lone Star. “We highly value the industry-wide recognized knowledge and competence of BASF’s Construction Chemicals experts, backed by a strong track record in innovative products and a compelling R&D pipeline. We look forward to jointly pursuing a growth-oriented business approach.”

With more than 7,000 employees, BASF’s Construction Chemicals business operates production sites and sales offices in more than 60 countries and generated sales of about €2.5 billion in 2018.

Telenor Pakistan and Serena Hotels Partnership to launched first-of-its-kind digital platform for hospitality 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) To ensure seamless connectivity for tourists and guests, Telenor Pakistan, in partnership with Serena Hotels Pakistan, has launched a revolutionary, first-of-its-kind digital platform. This solution, called ‘S TEL,’ will be a complimentary service for Serena Hotel guests allowing them to enjoy free international and local calls along with 4G internet and hotspot options, all packed in a dedicated smartphone placed in their rooms. S Tel was unveiled at an event held at Serena Hotel in Islamabad where management of both organizations was present alongside their teams.

Telenor’s ‘S TEL’ works as seamlessly as it meets the connectivity challenges of travellers while on the move. Through this platform, the guests will be able to stay in touch with the hotel for their basic amenities and also connect with their friends and family around the world.

 “Telenor Pakistan’s ‘S TEL’ is an innovative breakthrough not only in Pakistan’s but the region’s hospitality industry,” said Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan and Head of Emerging Asia Cluster Telenor Group, while sharing his thoughts on the development. “We pride in being industry leaders in introducing technological innovations and after our digital interventions on agriculture and social inclusion fronts, we are now aiming to transform businesses by providing them state of the art solutions that makes their processes more efficient. I’m pleased to partner with Serena Hotel for this solution and hopeful that this partnership will go a long way in setting new trends that are necessary to boost the tourism and hospitality industry in Pakistan.”

“We are ecstatic to have partnered with Telenor Pakistan for making this digital platform a reality,” said Aziz Boolani, CEO Serena Hotels – South & Central Asia. “Being the country’s hospitality leaders, we want to deliver our guests a wholesome digital and connectivity experience that is hard to match. With ‘S Tel’ we have come closer to achieving our goal as it offers guests a robust connectivity solution that makes their stay comfortable, safe, and memorable. This feature-rich application not only makes roaming charges and connectivity issues a thing of the past for our guests, but also works to lift tourism in the country with features such as the city guide. We trust that our guests will further enjoy their experience at Islamabad Serena Hotel with ‘S TEL’ being at their disposal.”

 As the guests check in to their room, the smartphone already has their basic details on ‘S TEL’ that can be accessed and used instantly. The smartphone is removable and the guest may take it with them to anywhere in the city. This means that the guests may place an order for their favourite meal or request for laundry pickup remotely, even before reaching back to the hotel. ‘S TEL’ also works as an absolute virtual local city guide which includes tourist attractions and sightseeing spots.

 Both organizations have ensured that this platform keeps user privacy a priority. To keep the user data secure, the device operates in Kiosk mode only allowing guests to stay connected to their friends, family and hotel management.. Upon check-out, it ensures privacy and protection of guest information by wiping all usage and communications data.

Sarsabz Fertilizer marks December 18 as ‘Kissan Day’

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Sarsabz Fertilizer, a flagship brand of Fatima Fertilizer under the Fatima Group, marked a special initiative to recognize December 18 as ‘Kissan Day’ in Pakistan. This is because unlike in many other developed countries around the world, Pakistan never had any such day to celebrate its farmers, despite being an agri-based economy and having 60% of its population residing within rural communities having 100 percent reliance of income on Agriculture.

‘Kissan Day’ was celebrated during a special event organized at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad on December 18, 2019

‘Kissan Day’ was celebrated during a special event organized at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad on December 18, 2019 with a recommendation to the Government to recognize and announce it officially as part of the Country’s annual national calendar of special days to be celebrated. The event was attended by high profile dignitaries from both Government and agriculture sectors. Representing the Government included notable figures such as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Asad Qaiser, Member of National Assembly Syed Fakhar Imam. Also present at the event were Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, His Excellency, Yao Ling and Srilankan High Commissioner to Pakistan, His Excellency, Noordeen Mohamed Shaheid. Representing the Agricultural sector were renowned agriculture entrepreneurs including Imdad Ali Nizamani, who is also a progressive farmer, as well as top management officials from Sarsabz including Ali Mukhtar, Director at Fatima Group, Khurram Javed Maqbool Director Marketing and Sales at Fatima Group and Rabel Sadozai, Head of Marketing at Fatima Group.

Member of National Assembly Syed Fakhar Imam

Having a special day for farmers meant to recognize and honor their important role and contributions to the national economy. On the occasion of celebrating Kissan Day, Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan also took to social media to highlight the importance of this day and to encourage and appreciate the Pakistani farmers. Speaker National Assembly, Asad Qaiser while addressing the ceremony also reiterated the fact that farmers play a pivotal role towards economic development of Pakistan and lauded the efforts of Fatima Fertilizers for recognizing the contributions of the farmer community. He also agreed, on behalf of the Government, on the fact that a special day for farmers should be celebrated every year in Pakistan. Sarsabz Fertilizer has been active since a long time advocating on giving due importance and recognition to Pakistan’s underserved farmers in order to curb national food security challenges on the face of constantly increasing food demand. Sarsabz’s Salam Kissan initiative recognizing December 18 as Kissan Day holds a unique importance of being the first-ever initiative not only to celebrate the farmers of Pakistan, but to also serve as a constant reminder about the importance of agriculture for our economic betterment.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, His Excellency, Yao Ling

While speaking at the occasion, Khurram Javed Maqbool, Director Marketing and Sales at Fatima Group stated, “Farmers are the backbone of our great nation and a key driving force to enable growth and prosperity within Pakistan’s agriculture sector. Without their contribution, it is impossible to resolve our food security challenges, keeping in view the growing population in Pakistan. We need to provide an enabling environment for them and remove any impediments in the way of their growth. Let this day become a reminder for everyone every year that within the progress of our small-scale farmers, lies the prosperity of our beloved Country”.

Pakistan being an agri-based economy depends on farmers for its prosperity. The farmer community needs a conducive environment to revive and flourish, therefore, a business as exposed to the vagaries of nature and as important as farming, a day to celebrate, support and encourage these farmers is the only right thing to do. In this respect, Fatima Group is striving to become a voice of the farmers by engaging the common man as well as the policy makers for an issue that holds the utmost importance.

Fatima Group through its ‘Salam Kissan’ initiative has been working conscientiously to modernize Pakistan’s age-old agriculture setup through an efficient digital revolution by introducing innovative tech-based new products and services to transform the current challenges of farmers into growth opportunities. With a day to celebrate the farmers now, Fatima Group is more determined than ever to persistently highlight the issues of farmers at the policy making level. The campaign will continue its momentum in Multan, Hyderabad and Sialkot thereafter in a bid to make the voice of small-farmers heard at a national level.

 

Faysal Bank Limited sponsors IFN Pakistan to promote Islamic Banking

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s leading banks, Faysal Bank Limited (FBL), was among the lead sponsors and participants in this year’s IFN Forum Pakistan conference. The day-long conference was held in partnership with the State Bank of Pakistan.

The IFN Forum Pakistan conference provides local regulators, market players and interested stakeholders an impartial platform to identify critical issues and objectively discuss potential solutions for the Islamic Banking industry. Faysal Bank Limited is committed to expanding financial inclusion through Islamic finance.

Speaking on the panel Mr. Muhammad Faisal Shaikh, Head Islamic Banking, Faysal Bank Limited

Speaking on the panel for Financial Inclusion through Islamic Finance, Mr. Muhammad Faisal Shaikh, Head Islamic Banking, Faysal Bank Limited, said: “On the Fintech side, to increase our reach to the mass population, we are working on a new digital strategy in which we are coming up with new payment strategies, including mobile wallets. We have also hired the services of an International Consultant who is advising us on developing our digital banking model. In order to increase financial inclusion in the country, we have also partnered with IBA Karachi and IMSciences Peshawar to increase awareness about Islamic Banking products and services in Pakistan.” Commenting with regards to what regulatory initiatives the Islamic Banking industry would like to see, to increase financial inclusion, Mr. Faisal Shaikh stated: “It is time we all collaborate on an industry level to make it easier for the investors and SMEs to simplify the process of Islamic Banking transactions through effective usage of Islamic Fintech solutions. This will not only benefit the industry, but will also help increase the penetration of Islamic Banking on the SME side.”

Responding to a question regarding the transformation process Faysal Bank is undergoing, he added, “As you are aware Faysal Bank is going through a conversion process, which is in fact the largest conversion process in the world. Nowhere in the world has a bank, with more than 200 branches, been converted. We are not just converting our existing branches but we are opening new branches as well. On 31^st December 2018 we had 255 Islamic banking branches, by the end of this year we will have 414 Islamic branches. We have converted 64 branches and added more than 100 branches this year.”

Ms. Tayyaba Rasheed, Executive Vice-President and Head of the Investment Banking Group, Faysal Bank Limited, speaking on the panel for Infrastructure Financing – Potential for Islamic Finance said: “The State Bank of Pakistan has played an effective role by introducing the infrastructure finance regulations back in 2016. They have already established the footprint for taking infrastructure project financing and infrastructure sector spending to the next level, but this is not enough. Commercial banks who are involved in infrastructure spending are collectively spending, on an average, PKR 150 billion annually; whereas the requirement for infrastructure spending in the country is PKR 400 billion annually, so there is a huge gap. To fill this gap Public Private Partnerships, which are globally an accepted method of financing, is the need of the day.”

 

Digital Marketing A Guide for Small Businesses

The small businesses facing great challenge to stay competitive market while having limited resources. It is quite difficult to increase awareness about your brand with a limited budget while big brands are investing a huge amount on digital marketing. Here is good news for small businesses. There are many cheap and free routes for digital marketing. They will give recognition to your company’s name on search engines. Let us have a look!

Create an account on Google My Business for digital marketing

Your account on Google my business will give recognition to your business. The moment you sign up you will see a section devoted to your company that will be there on the right side of the search engine results page. It will display your address, contact information, active hours, company reviews, and link of your website for your consumers.

You will also get access to 3-pack that will show your location and your presence in the nearby areas. You can make it possible with the help of search engine optimization services.

Use Google Analytics to be aware of traffic on your website

Google Analytics is free and it will provide every detail about web traffic. You can also see the performance of your website pages and blogs. It will also help you to monitor the peak times of traffic, page views, metrics, and bounce rates, etc.

Therefore, if you do not have enough budgets to spend on digital marketing then you should follow Google Analytics to spend sensibly. The results of Google Analytics will guide you about the way to advertise, to implement SEO as well as paid media.

Make use of an attention-grabbing website design

Website design is one of the main concerns of search engines. Google, Yahoo, and Bing will not consider a website with dull design because it is not user-friendly. These search engines will not rank such sites that cannot grab the attention of its visitors rather they leave it after a first click. So, give your business’s website a professional look, prioritizes information, as well as add pleasing imagery for a longer stay of the visitors.

On the other hand, responsiveness is necessary that indicates your website appears the same on mobile devices, laptops, and personal computers. The Slow speed of loading and misplaced information will annoy the visitors. Now, there are different types of plug-ins available that promise for a responsive website.

Execute SEO services

People take help from search engines if they want to find any product or service. SEO is a tactic that increases the figures of visitors on a website by bringing it at high rank in its search engine result pages. It contains specific keywords in the web content and structures the information so aptly that magnetize search engines. Keywords can play an important role in web traffic and business.

You can install free or low-cost plugins for SEO work that can suggest keywords related to the topics. You can also hire services of digital marketing companies such as Digitxpertz and EZrankings for your medium and small scale businesses.

Moreover, the Google keyword planner will provide keywords relevant to your topic. Here you can see the search volume and bidding price of every keyword as well.

Use Social media

Social media marketing is not less than a blessing for small businesses. All these platforms like Twitter Facebook, Snap chat, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram are the ones that are simple, easy, and free of cost platforms for marketing.