Category: Business

LAHORE – After working tirelessly to provide a beautiful home for your loved ones, the last thing you would want is for elements of nature to taint the fruit of your achievement. But now, all proud homeowners have nothing to worry about. With the new Dulux Weathershield Powerflexx, keeping the sheen and luster on the walls of your beloved home is made easy.

This coming season (May onwards), your beloved dwelling is likely to be subjected to extreme weather changes: searing temperatures of up to 45 degree Celsius one day, torrential rain on another. According to weather monitoring systems, the average rainfall in Pakistan is almost 1,133,100 litre per year. This means the average Pakistan home withstands more than two million litres of pouring rain over the years. When coupled with thousands of hours of scorching sun, and dirt and dust, this will damage your home, making it look old, weathered and dirty. Extreme weather changes and natural ground movement cause hairline cracks on walls. Many of these cracks are in parts of the wall that you do not normally see, and some are not visible to the eye. However, there is no telling how deep or shallow these cracks are. Rain and moisture can easily seep into these cracks and cause damage.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Engro Foods and the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) signed The Big Push Project which aims to create an eco-system within the dairy sector where 9000 plus farmers are trained in modern animal husbandry practices, with a focus on increasing milk production and incomes. In order to provide complementary services such as health and nutrition, the program will also train micro entrepreneurs in livestock extension skills, village milk collection skills and artificial insemination skills.

Furthermore, to create milk potential and enhance skills within the sector, the program will also train labourers in medium sized farms as supervisors. The program will be implemented in sixty (60) villages across Muzaffarabad, Lodhran, Bahawalpur and Bahwalnagar which have been identified as some of the poorest districts in the country. It is envisaged that this intervention will result in improvement of milk yield and quality thus benefiting small farmers with better prices and increasing livelihood. To monitor the impact of this project and to support Government policy formulation through evidence based data, PSDF has engaged the Centre of Economic Research Pakistan (CERP), headed by lead academics Dr. Asim Khawaja from Harvard University and Dr. Ali Cheema from LUMS.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hans Laarakker CEO Engro Foods, a part of the global Dutch giant Royal FrieslandCampina (RFC) said: “We are pleased to enter into this agreement with the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF). When the Government, academia and the private sector come together, real progress can be made. Dairy development and helping small dairy farmers is a key focus of our Company and it ensures our consumers get high quality and nutritious milk. With the Big Push Project, we aim to train 9,000 plus farmers in modern animal husbandry practices, 550 micro entrepreneurs in entrepreneurship skills, and 150 farm laborers from medium sized farms. This will contribute significantly to the development of small farmers in the region and reflects our dedication to develop the dairy industry in Pakistan with the Government of Punjab.”

Addressing to the audience Dr. Ijaz Nabi, Chairman of the Punjab Skills Development Fund said: Upgrading livestock skills is key to improving livelihood in rural areas.  Better skills will usher in knowledge intensive production processes for sustained long term growth of the rural economy. Punjab Skills Development Fund is partnering with dynamic private companies to augment government capacity to deliver innovative training in the livestock sector. PSDF’s recent experience is that, when well designed, this partnership yields high social returns. PSDF Board and management will regularly monitor and improve the program design to ensure that the development objectives are met.

Mr Jawad Khan CEO of the Punjab Skills Development Fund – stated: “Engro, PSDF and the Punjab Government see this program as a development project with its subsequent impact to reduce poverty in the impoverished region of Southern Punjab. Through infusion of skills and promotion of entrepreneurship, the program looks to create increased incomes for farmers and their families. Together in collaboration with Engro Foods I am hopeful that the program will increase income of farmers and generate employment for multiple stakeholders.”

This project will help towards poverty alleviation and the data and information from CERP monitoring and evaluation, will help formulate Government skills policy in the region. The project in Southern Punjab is a strategic area for Engro Foods, with potential to grow into a big market for milk.

 

Lahore ( Muhammad Yasir) –  UBL Fund Managers Limited (UBL Funds), managing UBL Stock Advantage Fund (Equity Scheme), has received the Management Association of Pakistan’s (MAP) Corporate Excellence Award in the Other Financial Services Category, making us three time winners at the Awards (source: mappk.org). With this, UBL Funds holds its position as the First and Only Asset Management Company in Pakistan to win a Corporate Excellence Award. The Award was received by Mr. Yasir Qadri, CEO UBL Funds, from Mr. Rasheed A. Rizvi, President Supreme Court Bar Associations of Pakistan, at a ceremony held at the Marriott Hotel.

Accepting the award, Mr. Qadri said, “We are pleased to be honored by MAP for the third year in the row.” He further added, “This recognition is a clear depiction of the relentless efforts of our employees, who have been working day in and day out to bring notable innovation, especially in the digital world to provide world-class customer services.”

The Corporate Excellence Award was instituted by MAP in 1982 with the sole aim to recognize and honour companies showing outstanding performances and demonstrating progressive and enlightened management practices.

The Award reflects that the Company has the best Corporate Practices and Governance in management of the UBL Stock Advantage Fund – its equity fund that has consistently produced competitive returns for its investors. The primary criteria for this Award emanates from best Corporate and Management practices reflected by Leadership, Corporate Governance, Customer and Market Focus, HR, Strategic Planning and Communication, Social Responsibility, Risk Management,  IT Infrastructure, Service Delivery and Security.

UBL Funds continues to be recognized in the Financial Services Category for its excellent corporate governance and best management practices, i.e. robust compliance and risk-based audit framework.

UBL Funds has recently received a number of international nods for its innovations in the financial sector including awards at the Financial Industry Application by APICTA – Asia Pacific ICT Alliance, Taiwan, CIO 100 Award, California, USA, and Digital Edge 50 Award, Florida, USA.(Source: http://www.ublfunds.com.pk/individual/awards/)

Lahore – In a yet another significant development in the realm of ICT empowered socio economic development, Ministry of IT & Telecom through the USF Co entered into a contract with Jazz for establishment of ten telecenters across diverse areas of the country.
In this connection, a signing ceremony of USF with Jazz, was held here on Tuesday. Minister of State for IT & Telecom Anusha Rehman witnessed the ceremony. Haaris Chaudhary, CEO-USF and CEO Jazz Aamir Ibrahim mutually signed the agreement for the establishment of telecenters. These telecenters are meant for provision of e-services, distance learning and creation of employment opportunities for freelancers etc amongst other benefits like bridging the digital divide.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for IT & Telecom Anusha Rehman said that provision of 3G Mobile broadband services to far flung areas remained our priority focus. This endeavor of telecenters project is an integral part of overall policy decision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for providing maximum facilitation to remote areas of the country.

ISLAMABAD – Telenor Pakistan and Facebook have launched the second installment of its knowledge-based initiative internet champion –iChamp – which includes a nationwide competition for schoolchildren and a reality show on national TV this year.

The launching ceremony was held at a private school in Rawalpindi and was attended by top management of Telenor Pakistan and Facebook. iChamp 2017’s goal is to touch secondary schools on a mass scale across Pakistan to educate youth on the benefits and safe use of internet. The programme will be supported by Facebook’s Free Basics project that provides free access to dozens of fun and learning websites. Covering 76 districts across all four provinces, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, an estimated 600,000 students will be trained by experts through Free Basics with free handbooks and other resources.

Lahore – Zong, Pakistan’s leading 4G network has partnered with LUMS, one of the leading Universities of Pakistan, for provision of dedicated internet services and VDI solutions. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is virtualization technology that hosts a desktop operating system on a centralized server in a data center.

In this regards a contract signing ceremony was signed between the management of Zong and LUMS. It is pertinent to mention that previously Zong has set up a mini customer services center at LUMS for facilitation of students and faculty members at the university along with setting up a 4G research lab at the University.

Zong is the leading 4G Telecom service provider with over 2.8 Million 4G subscribers and 4G coverage in over 300 cities of Pakistan. The company has recently committed to invest over $200 Million in Pakistan for network expansion in the country.

ISLAMABAD – LG Electronics and World Vision Pakistan recently equipped the Rural Health Centre (RHC) in Manga Mandi with LG solar panels to provide uninterrupted power supply for emergency services. It will also support major OPD functions keeping in view the routine load of the hospital and the prevalent electricity loadshedding.

The hospital was inaugurated by Kevin Cha, Regional CEO of LG Electronics for Middle East & Africa along with YG Choi, President of LG Electronics for Gulf FZE and Dr Zulfiqar Ali, chief executive officer of the District Health Authority, Lahore. Also present on the occasion were Philip Shin, country head of LG Electronics Pakistan; Rizwan-ul-Haq, programme head of World Vision Pakistan; technical partners JKS and MOMIN Pakistan teams and hospital staff.

Speaking on occasion, Kevin Cha shed light on the global presence of the company, saying, “LG Electronics, the global leader and technology innovator in electronics, currently operates in about 120 countries around the world, and we are proud to say that we have actively participated in CSR activities in nearly all those countries; all in our effort to give back to the local community and Pakistan is on priority list.”

Lahore  –  TOTAL PARCO PAKISTAN LIMITED (TPPL) proudly unveiled its new retail station design (T-AIR) on Zahoor Elahi Road-Lahore, at a ceremony held on the premises of TOTAL PARCO Royal Filling Station. The  new-look ,ultra-modern design petrol station promises a warm welcome , highest level of service and easy access to the broad range of quality TOTAL PARCO fuels, lubricants & Carwash Offering for its customers.

 

The site in the presence of the senior management of TPPL, distinguished guests & respected media, was inaugurated by Mr. Olivier Sabrie (CEO-TPPL) alongside Mr. Sohail Farookhi (VP-Commercial-TPPL), Mr. Husnain Khan (Marketing Manager-TPPL), Mr. Nasir Mian, Mr. Hassan Mian (Dealers-TPPL) & Legendary cricket star Mr. Shoaib Akhtar who had all the praise for TOTAL PARCO products and services across the country. The retail station is of significance because of its unique location and easy access for the commuters of Gulberg and its surroundings.

Rawalpindi / Islamabad – Bahria Town launched the Tree Plantation Campaign 2017 on Saturday, February 18 2017, amidst great fanfare at a beautiful event attended by prominent social figures, Bahria Town management, environmental activists and horticulturists from the twin cities.
The plantation campaign has been organised in collaboration with Horticulture and Environment Committee on Cornice Road along the bank of River Korang.
The campaign attracted a large number of women and children. More than 200 plants of different species were planted. This process will continue till mid March by which over twenty thousand saplings would be planted.
Air Marshall Masood graced the occasion by consenting to be the Chief Guest, and appreciated the efforts of Bahria Town for building a greener Pakistan.
He termed the campaign a reflection of Bahria Town’s commitment to the cause of environment.
Fiazud Din, Head Services (North), in his welcome note, highlighted the importance of greenery for the survival of human beings.
Sarfraz, an Environmental Activist, in his speech, appreciated the efforts of Horticulture Manager Mahmood Sadiq and his team.

Lahore – Pakistan’s largest data network, Zong 4G, partners with Smart Link Technologies to bring Asia’s largest smartphone brand, Mi to the Pakistani market. Xiaomi (pronounced shao-mee), the world’s third largest smartphone maker, has launched in Pakistan on 20th February 2017 at a media event in Islamabad. Renowned for its user-centric, innovation driven handsets, Xiaomi has recently reinvented itself as Mi and continues to provide affordable & quality technology globally.

Zong, synonymous with 4G technology in Pakistan, has entered into a partnership with Xiaomi to develop and promote the 4G eco-system in Pakistan. With over 2 million 4G subscribers and 4G coverage reaching 300 cities of Pakistan, Zong is committed to adding more investment in addition to bringing innovation and technology to the people of Pakistan.

Xiaomi’s decision to enter into this partnership with Zong is based on Zong’s fastest internet speeds and the widest 4G coverage in the industry. This is also reflective of China Mobile’s deep understanding of cultivating a 4G environment & the vision to enable a digital revolution in Pakistan. The partnership is geared to give a considerable boost to Xiaomi in their business venture in Pakistan.

In the 6 years since its inception, Mi has achieved significant success, with more than 61 million handsets sold in 2014. In Pakistan, Zong is the only cellular network to have entered into a partnership with Xiaomi, geared to give considerable support to develop the 4G ecosystem in Pakistan.

Redmi 4A and Mi Max, along with Mi Accessories are being launched on February 20th and the highly celebrated phone, Redmi Note 4, is expected to go live on the website soon after that. Smart Link Technologies will provide one year official warranty and Zong provides an attractive 4G offer of 6GB Data for 6 months.