Category: Business

Lahore –  As part of its sustained efforts at transforming country’s digital landscape, Zong 4G, Pakistan’s No.1 Data network, has officially inaugurated its 4G Wireless Research Lab at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

The state-of-the-art facility will provide students of Pakistan’s top-ranked university the opportunity to advance their academic endeavors along latest technological lines, greatly enhancing the school’s learning and research capabilities. The Zong 4G Research Lab comprises of latest broadband wireless equipment, including a commercial base station to support teaching and research into mobile and wireless networking systems. This includes a fully functioning separate 4G network along with exclusive SIMs that connect via the dedicated network.

In addition to supporting academic research, the Zong 4G Research Lab will also serve as a one-of-a-kind hub for innovation, greatly contributing to the promotion of start-ups arising from the university’s National Incubation Centre.  By coupling state of the art technology with Zong 4G’s super-fast network capabilities, the aim of this partnership is to help provide a joint platform to support some of the most promising ideas and solutions on the horizon of Pakistan’s fast changing digital landscape.

As the pioneer 4G network in Pakistan, Zong 4G has been at the forefront of leading Pakistan’s data revolution from the ground-up, enabling students and young entrepreneurs. Over the last few years, Zong 4G has invested heavily in the Pakistani market and its telecom infrastructure, making it Pakistan’s most reliable and state-of-the-art technological platform. Through this partnership, Zong 4G aims to leverage its   high-speed internet capabilities to help nurture and support some of Pakistan’s brightest minds, for many years to come.

Serving more than 70% of Pakistan’s 4G subscribers, Zong 4G continues to deliver an unparalleled customer experience, by bringing to life the endless possibilities of the country’s digital potential. This vision has been supported by the company’s aggressive expansion, making 100% of its network 4G enabled. Having built the country’s fastest and largest 4G network, Zong 4G has expanded its seamless 4G connectivity to over 300 cities of Pakistan.

 

 

Lahore –  German companies consider Pakistan a preferred destination for trade and business and Pakistani market offers immense potential of bilateral trade between two countries. These views were shared by BSH Home Appliances FZE CEO Mr. Tomas Alonso while inaugurating the newly established Bosch showroom by BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, which has established its first ever official products showroom in DHA Lahore.The showroom, which has been established with local business partner Mega Home Appliances, was inaugurated in presence of Provincial Minister for Food Mr. Bilal Yaseen along with BSH Home Appliances FZE CEO Mr. Tomas Alonso and Mega Home Appliances CEO Adnan Shah today.

BSH Home Appliances aims to expand its sales and distribution footprint in Pakistan and working to expand its retailer/distributor network across country.

“The country is now region’s one of the emerging economies. With annual population growth of more than % 2, Pakistan has one of the highest growth rates in Asia. These results, said Mr. Alonso, BSH Home Appliances FZECEO, who is in charge of all Middle Eastern and South Asian region.

While addressing the local media in Lahore today he said, “We are targeting to become the Nr. 1 home appliances supplier in Pakistan by doubling the T/O year-on-year”

Mr. Alonso said that in a country like Pakistan, which has been facing power shortage issue, it’s imperative that hundreds of millions of daily usage household appliances such as refrigerators, oven, dishwashers and washing machines etc. consume less energy to save the power and Bosch small and large home appliances are very much efficient in terms of less energy consumption undoubtedly the best choice for Pakistani households.In a low inflation high growth economy like Pakistan, there is a growing affluent consumer base, which is forecasted to increase by around 6 % annually. Both factors are having an overall positive effect on local purchasing power.Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, making it a very attractive market indeed for the BSH Home Appliances. “On account of the growing population and a young population with the low median age of 22, we see good business opportunities in Pakistan for Bosch in the medium and long term,” said BSH Home Appliances FZE CEO Mr. Alonso.

Mr. Syed Adnan Shah, Managing Director Mega Home Appliances said that “Pakistani consumers understand the value of German Technology and I am very confident that together Bosch and Mega Home Appliances, we will make Bosch, Pakistan’s most preferred home appliances brand.” He also thanked Bosch Home Appliances Management for their trust and partnership with Mega Home Appliances in Pakistan.

The company will focus on the sale of home appliances products for growing Pakistani consumer base.  “Pakistan has a growing percentage of an affluent, dynamic and future-oriented consumer base which is improving it’s lifestyle trends and Bosch is keen to offer its world class Home Appliances to consumers in Pakistan.BSH Hausgeräte GmbH is the largest home appliance manufacturer in Europe, and the 2^nd largest worldwide. BSH’s product portfolio spans the entire spectrum of modern household appliances that includes everything from stoves, ovens, extractor hoods, dishwashers, washers, dryers, refrigerators, and freezers to small appliances like vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, electric kettles and irons. This makes BSH the only full-range provider of home appliances globally.What distinguishes Bosch home appliances from other brands is quality, durability, performance, German heritage since 1886 and continuous innovation in technology and research.  It is not coincidental that the brands advertising the launch of home appliances products in Pakistan is part of Bosch’s consistent and long-term growth strategy in South Asia. “Our customers in Pakistan will definitely benefit from our company’s innovations. Ultimately, we also contribute to improving quality of life for local people with our products and services.”

Lahore –  Unilever Pakistan today reaffirmed its commitment towards enhancinggender diversity within its business by signing onto the Women’s Empowerment Principles, with support from UN Women.

The Seven Principles for Women’s Empowerment, are a joint initiative of UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) and the UN Global Compact. These principles provide a set of guidelines to helpcompanies focus on key elements integral to promoting gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community, through policy and action.

Shazia Syed, Chairperson & CEO, Unilever Pakistan, highlighted, “The business case for gender equality and diversity has long been accepted as an integral part of organizations across the world. In Pakistan, we too aredefining the organizational road map that will empower women to become the flag-bearers of economic success.”Jamshed M. Kazi (Country Representative, UN Women Pakistan) congratulated Unilever in driving change from the top and galvanizing momentum to advance gender equality, diversity and inclusiveness. Speaking on the occasion, he said “The cultural, social, political and infrastructural complexities associated with gender equality are broad and we need to cultivate a spirit of mutual work to be able to tackle these challenges. Multinational companies like Unilever Pakistan are paramount in bringing change and CEOShazia Syed is an inspiration for many women”.

By signing the Women’s Empowerment Principles, Unilever Pakistan joins a global movement for women empowerment in the corporate sector.Globally 1661 companies have already adopted the principles, of which Unilever’s headquarter has also been a signatory since 2013. The initiative includes the promotion of women to executive positions, career development opportunities for women employees, addressing discrimination against women and protecting them from workplace violence, supporting women-owned companies as vendors and service providers, promoting a positive image of women in marketing campaigns and enhancing facilities for women within the company.Unilever has made gender equality and the improvement of opportunities for women into a global priority across its business. This is also reflected by actions being taken by the organization in Pakistan to maximize the potential of women, advance careers and help maintain integrity and equality across the business value chain for both genders.UN Women supports the empowerment of women, including their right to exercise agency over their life, to fully participate in decision-making, to access and control resources, and to take part in economic and political affairs. UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme is currently being scaled up to all four provinces of Pakistan and FATA to support women and excluded groups to access income generating activities, formal employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. The programme will provide right-holders with capacity-building trainings, support in business development and financial literacy skills.

 

Karachi, Pakistan; Friday 8th December 2017

 As part of a mission to the region promoting post-Brexit business, delegates from the Mayor of London’s Office visit Karachi hub of London-backed startup colwiz.

London-Karachi collaboration: colwiz Founder Tahir Mansoori with his team of talented engineers and designers and the Deputy Mayor of London, Rajesh Agrawal.

The Deputy Mayor of London was in Karachi this week as part of a regional tour organised by the Mayor’s International Business Programme, a scheme mentoring London’s leading tech start-ups. colwiz was accepted onto the programme in October this year and has joined the tour across Mumbai, Bangalore and Karachi.

Commenting on his visit to the colwiz team in Karachi, Deputy Mayor for Business, Rajesh Agrawal, said: “London is home to some of the most innovative and exciting tech businesses in the world and I am delighted that colwiz is joining me in Karachi to show that London is open to talent, business and collaboration.”colwiz’s London investment stems from leading academic publisher Taylor & Francis, a part of the FTSE 100 Informa Group that acquired colwiz in May this year.

In closing the Deputy Mayor’s visit, colwiz founder Tahir Mansoori commented: ‘It’s been a privilege to host the Deputy Mayor here today, as a member of the Mayor’s International Business Programme. I’m delighted that our move to Taylor & Francis has enabled us to participate in partnerships such as this. It’s also provided us the investment and scale needed for our ambitions in AI-powered research intelligence, which the team have taken a lot of pride in showcasing to the Mayor’s team.’

colwiz are currently trialing their research intelligence service, wizdom.ai, with several leading academic publishers and institutions, prior to commercial launch in early 2018.

 

LAHORE  – An exciting hand wash trial of SAVANNAH Beauty Soap collection was conducted during GRAMMATHON 2017, which was organised by Lahore Grammar School, in which the complete SAVANNAH soap range was experienced by participants. Moreover, all attendees were not just presented with Savannah Beauty Soap as a giveaway, but were also treated with delicious french fries cooked in Golden Sun Canola Oil. Everyone is well-aware of the premium quality of IFFCO Pakistan’s Golden Sun Canola Oil, whereas in the Beauty Soap range, IFFCO Pakistan is an example in itself.

Its Beauty Soap collection with Fine Fragrances under the brand name SAVANNAH includes Paris Romance, London Passion and Arabian Bliss, which are available at all leading stores. IFFCO Pakistan firmly believes its Savannah Beauty Soap collection with Fine Fragrances would be well-received by all customers.

Lahore –  Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, continues its ambitious expansion plans in 2017 with a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner joined the fleet on 6th December 2017.

The wide-body Boeing 787-9 is a stretched version of the advanced long-range twin engine B787-8. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft is configured with 30 award-winning flat-bed Business Class suites, designed by BE Aerospace and 258 Economy Class seats. All classes feature the state-of-the-art Thales Integrated In-Flight Entertainment System which provides an even more enjoyable guest experience, allowing access to a wide selection of on-demand entertainment delivered through passenger experience interface developed specifically for Oman Air.

Her Excellency Hunaina Sultan Al Mughairy, Ambassador of Oman to the United States, travelled on board the inaugural flight that departed Charleston, South Carolina on 5th December and arrived Muscat on 6th December 2017.Acting CEO, Eng. Abdulaziz Al Raisi, said: “Oman Air is adding new aircraft to its fast growing fleet to keep up with the expansion programme. The delivery of new aircraft is part of Oman Air’s ambitious and dynamic programme of fleet and network expansion. The national carrier is continuing to invest with the key focus of providing guests with the very best on board experience.”
With the addition of this latest Dreamliner, Oman Air operates seven Boeing 787 Dreamliners aircraft. This aircraft will be utilized on Oman Air’s European and Far-Eastern sectors.
Maintaining a young and efficient fleet, the delivery of new aircraft is part of the national carrier’s future network growth. Oman Air continues to invest in providing guests with the best possible on board experience. To complement the new additions to the fleet, the airline has recently ordered 30 Boeing 737 MAX enabling a diverse range of configurations and cutting edge entertainment to enhance Oman Air’s guest travel experiences.

Lahore –  The Citizens Foundation (TCF), Pakistan’s leading education sector not-for-profit organization held its annual Teachers’ Awards ceremony to recognize and encourage the dedication of its teachers and principals. After multiple award ceremonies held in the major cities of Pakistan, the final awards ceremony concluded here in Karachi. The event was attended by more than 4,000 teachers and principals of Karachi and interior Sindh along with the head office staff and senior management. The awards were presented by TCF’s CEO to the teachers who exhibited the best performance this year.

TCF employs 12,000 female teachers and principals across its network of 1,441 schools in Pakistan. This makes TCF one of the top women employers in the country offering a female-friendly work environment. These teachers and principals are the backbone of TCF’s education movement teaching more than 200,000 students every day to help them become true agents of positive change. A fleet of 800 TCF vans embark on the journey of enlightenment every day to transport the female faculty to TCF schools in remote areas, making quality education possible for the children of less privileged areas.

“TCF largely owes the success that we have achieved so far to our teachers. A good teacher can build a future of a child and change his life for the better. A good principal can run a school with discipline and empathy for her students, guiding them in the right direction as and when needed. All the principals and teachers associated with TCF that I have come across are resilient and inspiring to say the least. They invest a great deal of time in their students to not just impart knowledge but also contribute to teaching the moral values. They take ownership of their students and nurture them as their own children. Today, I just want to tell you that I am so proud of the hard work you put in to help these children so devotedly and selflessly: you are putting the building blocks of an enlightened Pakistan,” said CEO & President of TCF Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad.

The awards were presented to 1,400 teachers for extraordinary performance this year in the following categories:

1. Service and Attendance awards
2. Teacher Competency awards
3. Board / Matric awards

Special awards were also presented to the students with exceptional performance in the matric board exams 2017.

Speaking on the occasion, Riaz Kamlani, VP overseeing education outcomes said, “At TCF, everything operates under a certain thought process. We believe in operating differently to achieve different and better results. Being one of the leading organizations empowering women, we feel it necessary to provide a comfortable environment to our teachers. Hence a special emphasis is placed on training them regularly for continuous improvement. The improving results of our students and their success in professional life is a testament of the dedication of our teachers. On this teachers awards, I also want to highlight that TCF school curriculum promotes an interactive, child centered teaching approach with emphasis on hands-on activities that help children learn, question and enjoy the learning process. Our teachers with their ambition and commitment enable the children to learn and understand this curriculum based on the learning needs of the children who represent different ethic backgrounds.”

TCF understands that specialized principals’ and teachers’ training is a prerequisite for imparting quality education in all its schools. While teachers have a direct impact on students in classrooms, principals affect all students in the school. Our training team, therefore, aligns an extensive teacher and principal training programme every year. For teachers, the modules are designed based on their training needs assessmentranging from Classroom Management to Motivating Learners to Usage of Visual Aids. Principals on the other hand receive training for effective school leadership. Their training includes courses like Communication Skills, Conflict Management, Delegation, Prioritizing and Taking Action. The objective is to produce and sustain a positive learning environment that generates strong learning outcomes in classrooms, ensuring students’ academic success. TCF believes that good teachers are its greatest asset and will continue to invest in them for the best education outcomes.

 

 

Lahore –  Faysal Bank Limited (FBL), one of the leading banks in Pakistan has signed a BancaTakaful distribution agreement with Jubilee Life Insurance Company Ltd. Window Takaful Operations (JLI-WTO) for sales of their Shariah compliant Takaful products through its distribution channels.

Commenting on this occasion Mr Yousaf Hussain, President and CEO, Faysal Bank stated, “This business alliance between two leading brands FBL & Jubilee Life is a testimony of our commitment to provide the most diversified financial solutions to our customers from our Wealth Management platform.”

Mr. Javed Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO, Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited, said, “BancaTakaful has shown significant growth in the last two years since we initiated the Window Takaful Operations. It has strategically assisted the penetration of insurance in a much wider audience base. We are confident that this partnership with Faysal Bank coupled with our top-quality service would create room for business longevity by providing a one stop solution to customers for all their financial needs.”

Faysal Bank through this partnership will further enhance its Wealth Management Takaful proposition and aims to build a robust financial platform to meet the saving and protection needs of their customers.

Lahore – The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and BASF signed three agreements, paving the way for wider dissemination and adoption of direct-seeded rice (DSR) tools and technologies. Through this partnership, the two organizations will establish a multi-stakeholder DSR Consortium and further research on the use of non-genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant rice.BASF will also become a founding member of a new multi-party research consortium led by IRRI on the mechanized and precise direct seeding of rice. This and future partnerships will be coordinated by the new Rice Knowledge Center, which was inaugurated today at BASF’s Agricultural Research Station in Bay, Laguna, Philippines.Under optimal conditions, direct seeding is considered a more efficient and cheaper method of growing rice than manual rice transplantation. It requires less resources such as labor and water, and it emits less greenhouse gases compared with other rice growing methods.Although direct seeding is widely practiced in the United States and South America, challenges such as higher yield losses due to weed infestation have limited its wide-scale adoption in Asia.

The new research consortium aims to:

• develop robust mechanized dry- and wet-DSR systems,
• investigate solutions to manage weeds, and
• formulate agronomic practices suited for DSR farms in Asia.

 

Furthermore, the consortium will enable IRRI to develop DSR technologies and test rice varieties suitable to Asian environmental conditions. Membership is open to the public and private sectors, research organizations, NGOs, and farmer groups.The partnership will also advance research on non-genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant rice to safely control weed infestation in DSR systems. Once these varieties are introduced to the market, a third-party organization will assess their impact on rice productivity, profitability, and ecological sustainability.

About the International Rice Research Institute

The International Rice Research Institute is a nonprofit, autonomous, nonpolitical, international organization established in 1960 under international treaty, with a mission to reduce poverty and hunger through rice science, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers and ensure environmental sustainability through collaborative research, partnerships and strengthening of national agricultural research and extension systems.

About BASF’s Crop Protection division

With a rapidly growing population, the world is increasingly dependent on our ability to develop and maintain sustainable agriculture and healthy environments. BASF’s Crop Protection division works with farmers, agricultural professionals, pest management experts and others to help make this possible. With their cooperation, BASF is able to sustain an active R&D pipeline, an innovative portfolio of products andvservices, and teams of experts in the lab and in the field to support customers in making their businessesbsucceed. In 2016, BASF’s Crop Protection division generated sales of €5.6 billion. For more information, please visit agriculture.basf.com.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.