Category: Business

Islamabad – Web Desk- Haier Takes Industry and Market by Surprise – Introduces a 10 Year Warranty on Their New Refrigerator Line. Haier has taken the market by surprise and at the same time upped the ante for the competition by doubling the warranty period on their new line of refrigerators. The announcement of a 10 year warranty, double the normal coincides with the introduction of 26 new models named the Turbo series.
The announcement came at the end of Haier’s annual Brand Seminar, which also saw the introduction of new models in most other categories of home appliances, including washing machines and air conditioners and the introduction of new kitchen appliances.
The turbo series is without doubt the most advanced refrigerators available and are the new industry standard for long term reliability, innovative design and features, and set extremely high bench marks for cooling depth, cooling efficiency and cooling retention, bench marks that, at the moment, no other brand on the market can even come near.
The new Turbo series will take down the temperature to an amazing minus 25 degrees as compared to minus 18 which until now was the industry standard – a significant difference of minus seven degrees. And it will do this in a speedy two hours, which is a full one hour faster than conventional refrigerators.
Thick sides, with extra foaming, combined with super-efficient all round cooling throughout the compartment will keep food fresh for very long periods of time. Best of all, the Turbo series will start at voltages as low as 125 volts and retain freezing temperatures for a whopping 100 hours without electricity in case of extended disruption in the power supply.

Lahore – Perception Survey conducted by American Business Council showed that there was a significant improvement of over 30% in the Law and Order Situation as compared to last year.
Over 78% of respondents have indicated that they plan to invest in Pakistan over the next 12 months as compared to 65% from last year and 83% are optimistic about the long-term economic and operating climate.
The members have, however, separately commented about the government’s tendency to introduce mini budgets as well as sudden changes in policies or rules during course of a fiscal year. ‘Such steps negatively impact on the existing as well as new investments,’ they stated.
The perception survey allowed ABC members to rate their satisfaction on various economic, regulatory and political factors that affect the performance and growth of businesses operating in Pakistan over FY15-16.
The business climate was rated on each of the various factors influencing it; including implementation and consistency of trade and competition policies, government development budget, domestic market, internal and external political climate and law and order. For 2015-16, the vast majority of respondents rated the business climate of Pakistan as satisfactory with only 8% giving it a poor rating.

LAHORE –  Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) champion K-Electric is all geared up to compete in NBP President’s Cup Football tournament.
Overall 12 teams participating in the tournament which will commence on January 17, 2017 at the KPT Sports Complex. According to KE spokesperson, “Following the phenomenal performance of our team during previous tournaments, we are quite hopeful for a great game yet again from PPFL champion. We wish our team all the best for this tournament.”
With a strong affiliation with sports, KE has always been at the forefront to nurture youth, providing them with the resources and guidance to inspire future sportsmen. K-Electric also organises regular training of its football team.

Punjab Agriculture Minister visits Monsanto’s Bio-Tech Corn field trial site

Mailsi – Vehari -2017: The Punjab Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Naeem Akhtar Khan Bhabha, visited the bio-tech corn field trial being undertaken by Monsanto Pakistan. During the visit, the Minister was provided with a detailed briefing and overview of the technology features, crop characteristics, trial and testing parameters and agronomic practices. The briefing was followed by a tour of the crop field for practical demonstration. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bhabha acknowledged the positive role of technology and innovation in the field of agriculture and emphasized the importance of a vibrant seed industry for the development and growth of agriculture in the Country.

Monsanto Pakistan’s latest bio-tech corn seed incorporates technology that provides protection against pest attack and enables over the top application of herbicides for significantly improved pest and weed control. This cutting-edge technology will reduce cost of agriculture inputs and labor, whilst protecting crop yield for the farmer. From 1996 till 2016 over 2 billion hectares of biotech crops have been planted by 18 million farmers across 28 countries. During this period (1996-2014) biotechnology was responsible for additional production of 158.4 million tons of soybeans and 321.8 million tons of corn, contributing over $150 billion in global farm incomes. The technology has also contributed production of an extra 24.7 million tons of cotton lint and 9.2 million tons of canola.

During the briefing, Mr. Aamir Mirza, Country Lead for Monsanto Pakistan, informed the Minister that Monsanto’s new bio-tech corn received commercialization approval from the Federal Ministry of Climate Change in February 2016, following compliance with the bio-safety rules and regulation and rigorous field trials, first initiated in 2009. He assured the Minister that Monsanto Pakistan is committed to providing the highest quality corn seed to the farmer and will continue to work closely with the farming community to ensure understanding of optimum agronomic practices, highlighting Monsanto’s efforts towards building capacity of the farmers through “Farmer Field Day”, “Learning Center” and “Agriculture Academy” programs.

Local progressive farmers present at the event were also provided detailed briefings and practical demonstrations of the new seed technology. Farmers showed excitement at the prospect of the latest bio-tech seed and urged for its introduction at the earliest. While speaking to the farmers, Mr. Mirza explained that globally, crop biotechnology has reduced pesticide spraying (1996-2014) by 581 million kg (-8.2%), significantly reducing cost to the farmer and mitigating impact to the environment.

In addition to leading progressive farmers from the locality, seed distributors and members of the electronic and print media were also present on the occasion.

*About Monsanto Company:

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world’s natural resources such as water and energy. To learn more about our business and our commitments, please visit: www.monsanto.com

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s 55 most prestigious companies with significant contribution for social development through different remarkable projects and activities will be given awards at 9th Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Summit to be held here on January 19. Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal will be chief guest at the ceremony, said a press release issued here on Saturday. FPCCI President Zubair Tufail will open the inaugural session while Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Syed Abu Akif, Benazir Income Support Programme Chairperson Marvi Memon and others will chair the second session. This event is being organised by National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH). According to NFEH President Naeem Quershi, all the award winning companies have played a vital role in empowerment of society in the fields of education, health, environment, socio-economic development, welfare projects for under privileged and under-served masses of the country.

KARACHI –  Dawlance, Pakistan’s leading home appliance manufacturer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MCB Bank Ltd, which will allow the bank’s credit card consumers to avail all high-end Dawlance products at zero mark-up on 12-month and 18-month installments plans respectively.
The promotion is applicable on selected Dawlance refrigerators, washing machines, deep freezers, split air conditioners and microwave ovens. Dawlance Country Manager Salih Arslantas said, “This will further strengthen our consumer base and coalition with Pakistan’s leading private bank sector. It is a great move which won’t just benefit the two organisations, but will also benefit both our consumers.”
Speaking on the occasion, Nadeem Afzal – Group Head Consumer Banking from MCB Bank Ltd – said that the partnership would assist in enhancing the accessibility of the bank’s financial services and would be equally beneficial for its consumer base, which will be able to purchase Dawlance’s quality home appliances at discounted prices.

LAHORE –  The top global technology media outlets recognises Huawei with eight awards at CES 2017, highlighting the Mate 9’s new partnerships, power, performance, design and dual-lens camera.

The HUAWEI Mate Book was also recognized with a CES Innovation Award 2017 Honoree for its impressive design and performance. The Android Authority named Huawei as the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’; crediting the company’s revolutionary devices, business acumen and technological leadership for its breakout success in 2016.

Huawei’s products and services are now available in more than 170 countries, including Pakistan and are used by a third of the world’s population.

The Wall Street Journal selected Mate 9 as one of its ‘Best of CES 2017’ products, highlighting the device’s display, processor, charging capabilities and Leica dual-lens camera.

Islamabad –  Samsung has recently inaugurated a highly equipped Service Center at Malik Complex, 80-E Jinnah Ave, Blue Area, Islamabad.

This modern facility has been enriched with sophisticated equipment, to set higher standards of service-quality, to fulfill the changing needs of various consumer segments. A special inauguration ceremony was held to launch the facility in Islamabad.

Samsung Electronics – a global technology leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, telecommunications and home appliances – has also introduced a unique concept of ‘Premiere’ service center in Pakistan to enhance the level of satisfaction among its buyers. Thus, winning the complete confidence of customers and reassuring them that; Samsung truly cares for them and stands behind the performance and quality of its products.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir Javed) Zong has announced and disbursed multiple cash reward bonuses to all of its employees in Dec 2016 and Jan 2017 due to the excellent operational performance of the organization in 2016. The cash reward bonuses include annual performance bonus, special incentive bonus & CEO special award bonus for 2016. This bonus payout is one of the highest ever performance based rewards in the history of the organization.

It was a moment of sheer joy for all of zong’s employees as all rewards paid in December 2016 and January 2017 were on top of the 3 quarterly bonuses already disbursed throughout the year based on the quarterly performances of the company. Zong has been a rising telecommunication organization over the last few years with the best 4G coverage and data speeds throughout the nation coupled with the most affordable prices for its products, leading the industry in its 4G evolution.

LAHORE –  Easypaisa has entered into an agreement with EFU Life Assurance Ltd under which Easypaisa will extend its services to accelerate insurance premium collection from EFU Life’s clientele through Easypaisa’s ubiquitous network across Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by Easypaisa Head Muhammad Yahya Khan and EFU Life Insurance MD and CEO Taher G Sachak. EFU Life is a pioneer life insurance company of Pakistan offering a wide array of insurance products to its expansive clientele.

Sharing his thoughts on the development, Yahya said, “We are glad to extend Easypaisa’ services to support EFU Life Insurance for insurance premium collection from across the country. Easypaisa, with the help of its expansive network of agents all over the country, will be instrumental in facilitating smooth and convenient collection of premium for EFU.”