Category: Business

Lahore – Pakistan’s leading 4G network, Zong (CMPak) and one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, Xiaomi, have joined hands to launch Xiaomi products in Pakistan. Zong is the only cellular network in Pakistan to have entered into a partnership with Xiaomi. Xiaomi’s decision to enter into this partnership with Zong is based on Zong 4G’s fastest internet speeds and the widest 4G coverage in the industry. This partnership is geared to give a considerable boost to Xiaomi in their business venture in Pakistan.

Following this partnership, customers will be able to access top of the line Xiaomi handsets, including 4G smartphones and accessories at Xiaomi display centers at Zong’s Customer Service Centers. In addition to this, Zong is also giving special data offers for customers purchasing Xiaomi phones anywhere in Pakistan.

This launch is in line with Zong’s vision to develop a complete 4G ecosystem in the country, as it has partnered with leading companies including Huawei, Q-Mobile, Oppo, HTC, Samsung and e-commerce platform Daraz.pk.

The official launch event of Xiaomi will be taking place on 20^th February 2017 in Islamabad.

Zong is currently expanding its 4G coverage to over 300 cities nationwide and has the largest 4G subscriber base of over 2 million as of December, 2016. Zong has recently announced its plans to invest over $200 Million in Pakistan for 4G network expansion.

LAHORE –  Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) revealed its expected 2016 annual performance figures indicating a 42 per cent increase when compared to 2015. With anticipated sales revenue of USD $26 billion Huawei CBG is showing steady growth for the fifth consecutive year. Additionally, smartphone shipments reached 139 million units presenting a year-on-year growth of 29 percent. According to IDC, the increasing rate of global smartphone shipments was only 0.6% in 2016, which means Huawei has outperformed the overall market.

Richard Yu, chief operating officer of Huawei CBG, commented on the results saying, “Despite tough market conditions Huawei CBG is still growing at industry-leading speed. We believe our success is a direct result of our consumer and innovation-centric approach, as well as our ongoing commitment to building a premium brand.

As we reinforce our global channels and ensure consistent, high-quality service, we make our devices accessible and reliable for all Huawei users.”

When speaking on Huawei’s plans for the coming year, Yu said: “In 2017, we plan to strengthen our supply chain, channels, R&D efforts, our after-sales services. We will also work to fortify any other areas and to streamline our operations, improve the efficiency of our decision-making, drive our internationalization strategy and proactively develop future capacity.”

Lahore – (Muhammad Yasir )- The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) through its Pakistan member firm, A. F Ferguson & Co. Chartered Accountants, engaging the firm as Knowledge Partner for its Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB). The objective of this MOU is to express the willingness of both parties to engage in an effort to promote responsible business growth in Pakistan. In this respect PwC/A.F.Ferguson & Co will provide technical assistance to ensure a fair and competitive environment central to sustainable business, economic growth and the national development of Pakistan.

CERB’s vision is to be a multi-sector business coalition assisting Pakistan enterprises to pursue sustainable value creation in the short,medium and long term. CERB’s mission is to enagage with businesses and industry leaders and enable the transformation towards the conduct of responsible business in Pakistan, and to leverage private sector growth for inclusive development, poverty It therefore seeks to leverage best practices of global businesses, PBC Members and others in Pakistan to inculcate a change in mind-set among businesses including small and medium-sized enterprises. Central to this is a robust Research & Innovation Initiative and this alliance with the global PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) network, would go a long way in making this come about.

PBC is Pakistan’s pre‐eminent think tank and business advocacy body composed of businesses that have a substantial investment and long term commitment to growth in and of Pakistan. Its members represent 10% of GDP and nearly every 5th Rupee of tax revenue and annual exports. Together the members directly employ 300,000 people, with millions more in the extended value chain. PBC works closely with relevant government ministries, regulators and others through evidence based representations with the objective of strategic, medium to long term transformation of the business environment. In the current stage of its evolution, PBC will leverage the strength of its members to reach out to and help develop capacity and capability of medium‐sized businesses to world class.

LAHORE  –  EcoStar is the leading innovator in LED Televisions and smart TV technologies. This nationwide brand has now engaged the famous TV actor and show-host Fahad Mustafa for launching an awareness campaign for the deceptive TV screen-sizes being sold in the market.
In this new TV advertisement, Fahad Mustafa will make the consumers cautious, by revealing the facts about this malpractice observed in LEDTVs market. Being a responsible enterprise that believes in transparency, EcoStar is issuing these public-service messages on media, to advise the buyers to actually measure and confirm the LED screen size, before purchasing any television.

Bhikki – Pakistan – GE (NYSE: GE) and Harbin Electric International Company Limited (HEI) today announced they have achieved a major milestone with the first fire of an advanced GE 9HA gas turbine installed at the Bhikki Power Plant – less than 17 months after the turnkey project was first announced. The turbine can generate up to 385 megawatts (MW) of reliable power that is expected to be distributed for residential and commercial use through the national grid within a few days after first fire.

“First fire of gas turbine 1 is a significant milestone towards the completion of the Bhikki project, a key initiative undertaken by the Government of Punjab to provide reliable, uninterrupted power to citizens,” stated the Hon. Chief Minister of Punjab, Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. “GE’s HA gas turbines have set industry benchmarks in the cost-effective conversion of fuel to electricity, and we are delighted to adopt this leading technology in Pakistan. I am also proud to say that the open and transparent procurement process through which the technology was acquired helped us save billions of rupees, while providing affordable power to the country.”

First fire is a critical test where the gas turbine is switched on and run on fuel at the site. It follows several months of installation and commissioning works. With Pakistan facing an estimated 5 gigawatt (GW) energy shortfall, the Government is moving forward quickly with projects to help meet this power deficit. Set to be one of the most efficient power plants in the country, upon completion the 1,180 MW Bhikki facility is expected to generate the equivalent power needed to supply approximately 2.5 million Pakistani homes. It will play a critical role in meeting the Government’s goals under Vision 2025 to expand access to electricity to over 90 percent of the population.

“GE has invested almost $2 billion in the development of our HA technology, and our turbine provides a powerful combination of the highest efficiency and superior operational flexibility, leading the industry in total life cycle value,” said Mohamad Ali, President & CEO of GE’s Gas Power Systems – Projects, in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and India. “We are proud to bring this technology to Pakistan, and with this important milestone – achieved in less than 17 months – we are one step closer to ensuring the everyday needs of people and industry are met.”

The HA is GE’s largest and most efficient gas turbine. In June 2016, GE set a world record for powering the world’s most efficient combined-cycle power plant with its HA technology. Today, the technology is being adopted by customers around the world, including those in the UK, USA, Japan, Korea, Germany, France and other countries.
“This is the first GE 9HA unit to be operational not only in Pakistan but also in the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and South Asia region,” added Sarim Sheikh, President & CEO of GE Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. “We are especially proud to help Pakistan be the first country in the region to utilize this record-setting technology and remain committed to powering Pakistan and fueling progress by working across various fuel sources, including gas, coal, hydro, wind and others.”

GE entered an agreement to provide two high-efficiency 9HA.01 gas turbines and associated equipment to HEI for the Bhikki Combined Cycle Power Plant in September 2015. HEI is providing engineering, procurement and construction services for the facility.

GE has been a committed partner in Pakistan’s development for more than 50 years, providing innovative solutions for energy, transportation and healthcare. Today, more than 25 per cent of the country’s electricity is generated by GE-built technologies, and the company’s operations create employment opportunities for more than 450 people across Pakistan.

 LAHORE –  JazzCash has partnered with Daewoo Express in line with its commitment to provide digital solutions to customers. Under the agreement, travellers can now pay for their reserved Daewoo ticket through JazzCash.

Talking about the partnership, Aniqa Afzal Sandhu, chief digital & financial services officer at Jazz, said, “This agreement allows Daewoo Express to offer payment convenience and security to its customers.

Travellers no longer need to stand in long queues nor reach the station an hour or two prior to book their tickets. With a vision to digitise financial solutions, this is just one of the many partnerships we are in to ensure end users experience the benefits offered by digitisation.”  To utilise this service, customers can either visit Daewoo’s official website, and choose JazzCash Mobile Account as their mode of payment, or book the ticket through Daewoo’s UAN (111-007-008), receive the booking number via SMS, and then pay for the ticket using the Mobile Account or by visiting the nearest JazzCash retailer. Customers can then visit the dedicated JazzCash terminals at Daewoo stations to receive their ticket.

KARACHI  –  Shell Pakistan Limited has signed a three-year contract with Fatima Group – one of the leading conglomerates in the country, for the supply of Lubricants, technical assistance and services.

“We are proud to partner with one of the most progressive business conglomerates in Pakistan. With a diverse portfolio, including textile, energy and fertilisers, we look forward to powering growth in their businesses through our innovative product technology and solutions,” said Haroon Rashid, general manager for lubricants, Shell Pakistan Limited. He added: “Partnerships like these serve as a testimonial to the trust our customers have in Shell as their preferred supplier of energy and innovative solutions for the industry.”

Aftab Khan, chief supply chain officer of Fatima Group, said: “Fatima Group is delighted to partner with the leading supplier of lubricants in our industry. As two companies with similar values for growth through innovation, honesty and integrity, we believe it is a natural alliance. We look forward to utilising Shell’s technology leadership to collaborate on integrated energy solutions and also hope to contribute towards Pakistan’s economic revitalisation.”

Lahore – Muhammad Yasir – Huawei has been ranked 40th on the ‘Most Valuable Brands’ list within the Global 500 ranking of 2017, released by the prestigious ‘Brand Finance’ platform. Being a research-based forum – ‘Brand Finance’ specializes in Brand Valuation and the valuation of Intangible Assets. It evaluates the performance of world-leading brands and measures their potential.
In 2016, Huawei was ranked 47th in the same ranking report, whereas this year its performance has risen by 7 ranks to take the 40th spot in the list. Last year, Huawei’s Brand-Value was estimated at 19,743 Million US Dollars and in 2017 Huawei’s Brand Value has risen to US $ 25,230 Million. In 2016, Huawei’s Brand Ranking was ‘AA’, which has now risen ‘AAA-‘.
This reflects a tremendous improvement in Huawei’s Brand performance, as this global leader in technologies has continued to innovate and create fascinating devices and pioneering solutions, that can meet the fast-evolving needs of the modern-day consumers of telecommunications and digital connectivity.
‘Brand Finance’ calculates ‘Brand Value’ by determining the value a company would be willing to pay to license its brand, as if it did not own it. This approach involves estimating the future revenue attributable to a brand and calculating a royalty-rate that would be charged for the use of the brand. Multiple attributes such as; emotional connection, financial performance and sustainability, etc are taken in to account. The brand performance is benchmarked against competitor brands, while several kinds of financial analyses are also conducted.
With its stellar performance Huawei has managed to secure the 40th spot in this prestigious list and with its aggressive growth plans in 2017, It looks well on its way to achieving its 2017 target of becoming the biggest mobile phone supplier in the world in terms of units produced.

KARACHI –  David Taylor, P&G chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer, met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Davos on the sidelines of the recent World Economic Forum. He confirmed P&G’s commitment to serve Pakistani consumers and expressed optimism about the potential and business climate of Pakistan.
David Taylor shared with the prime minister facts about P&G’s operations in Pakistan which has enabled P&G to celebrate 25 years of its presence in the country with a great success. He said P&G’s presence in Pakistan is strong and getting stronger. Since its first shipment to Pakistan in August 1991, P&G has grown to be amongst the top fast moving consumer goods companies in Pakistan and has launched premium quality brands which are amongst leading household names in their categories.

Lahore – JazzCash Mobile Account, Pakistan’s number one, has been nominated for GSMA Glomo Awards 2017 in the category of ‘Best Mobile Product, Application or Service for Women in Emerging Markets’.
The GSMA Glomo Awards offer organizations across the global mobile ecosystem the opportunity to showcase the latest mobile products, apps, devices, services, and initiatives to the world, and are considered the most prestigious telecom awards at the global level.
“We congratulate all of the nominees for the Glomo Awards, which once again saw an impressive number of entries,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. “The Glomo Awards recognize those companies and individuals that are driving innovation in the rapidly evolving mobile industry, and we are excited to this year introduce several new awards that highlight the very latest developments in this dynamic industry. We wish the best of luck to the 2017 Glomo Award nominees,” he added.