Category: Business

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) 

+Sehat Kahani collaborates with Zong 4G, Pakistan’s leading cellular and digital services provider, to offer thousands of free remote and online consultations for the marginalized strata of society.

The underprivileged members of the community who are Zong4G users can now avail more than 12,000 e-health consultations via the Sehat Kahani Retail app. The process is simple and requires Android/IOS users to download & signup for Sehat Kahani App. After signing up users can search for doctors that are available online on the App offering consultations in different fields of medicine. Users from the

marginalized strata of Pakistan would be able to avail free consultations by utilizing promo code ZONGSEHAT.

Once this process is complete, users from low income communities would be able to connect to a doctor in less than 60 seconds, making healthcare services more accessible and inclusive.

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Venture will promote the Solar Energy Solutions and scale up the livelihoods in Bahawalpur, South Punjab.

Lahore (Sep-2021)

Zonergy, one of the leading Solar Energy Solutions Company, under its Corporate SocialResponsibility program has joined hands with the Government of Punjab,Energy Department to setup a 3 x 100 MW flagship Solar Power Plant located at Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park, Bahawalpur under CPEC framework. The signing ceremony was held in the Minister for Energy Punjab which formalizes the project.

3×100 MW of this three-phase9×100 MW project is already completed that won Luban award, the highest award in the construction works in China. The total investment for the first phase was around 3.125 billion Yuan. Zonergy 9 ×100 MW solar power project spans over 4500 acres of land. Zonergy executes the project by IPP model and the investment of Phase I was USD 460 million. This project is listed as CPEC “Early Harvest” project.

 

This 300MW solar power plant, till date, has generated 2 billion units electricity and fulfill the energy needs of more than 200,000 households. The project created more than 3000 Jobs for Pakistani Nationals. Moreover, Zonergy trained more than 100 Engineers and provided internship opportunities to 50 Students of the University of Engineering & Technology & Islamia University Bahawalpur about the Photovoltaic Technology.

In coming future too, The project will provide annual internship program for the Bahawalpur’s public sector universities, Solarization of Two Makhdoom Rashid Degree Colleges (25+20 KW), Solarization of higher secondary school Bhaili Multan (15KW), installation of 05 KW solar power plant in emergencies of two hospitals at Bahawalpur and Multan, development of two Resource centers for training on Solar/RE technologies at universities in Bahawalpur / Multan, installation of solar power plant at Bahawalpur Victoria & Nishtar Hospital (320+180KW), and installation of water filtration plant at any suitable vicinity in Bahawalpur.

At the signing ceremony, Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar Said, With the government’s thrust on renewables and the target to build self-sustained state, this is the right time for us to foray into solar energy. This joint venture with Zonergy for the solar project in Bahawalpur is both a significant step for the company towards a balanced energy portfolio and a giant leap towards better future for us a nation. This is aligned with our vision of bringing development while leaving less as possible carbon footprint. We are pleased to partner with Zonergy, given their technologically advanced products, EPC capabilities, operations, and maintenance services.

Vice President Zonergy Xu said, Today, renewable energy sector is witnessing a positive momentum. The sector is committed to provide sustainable and affordable energy for all. We believe if Pakistan’s renewable potential is unlocked, it can transform the country’s energy architecture to be dominated by clean energy sources. We look forward to our continuing partnership with the Government, Stakeholders and people and thereby contributing to the country’s energy security.It’s not only about energy solutions but people. Our CSR program will undertake CSR activities in the interest of the people of Bahawalpur & South Punjab keeping in view the international best Practices.

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)

The donor funded TVET Sector Support Programme implemented by National Vocational and Technical Training Commission and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) organized the Hunar~Rozgar Mela 2021 in Karachi aimed at showcasing the skill set of Pakistani youth in key economic sectors and providing a platform to the TVET graduates for job seeking. Through this Mela, the TVET Sector Support Programme, which is funded by the European Union, Norwegian and German Governments successfully showcased the skills of training institutes in Sindh that are implementing competency-based training in industry priority economic sectors. These institutes have received assistance from the TVET Sector Support Programme. The ceremony is graced by Provincial Minister of Sindh for Information, Labour and Human resource Mr. Saeed Ghani along with Advisor to Chief Minister on Finance Mr. Syed Ali Shah.

As-many-as 2,500 graduates of TVET Sector Support Programme from 20 different institutes visited recruitment kiosks of 54 national and multinational enterprises for exploring employment opportunity against 1,000 jobs while testing their interview skills in front of more than 100 recruiters in various leading economic sectors of Pakistan.

Speaking at the occasion of closing ceremony of Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021, Mr. Saeed Ghani, Provincial Minister of Sindh for Information, Labour and Human Resource said, “The Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021 is a great initiative and served as a platform to connect hundreds of young jobseekers trained in vocational and technical trades with recruiters and HR professionals from leading enterprises”. He mentioned that the role of programmes like TVET SSP is highly crucial in the socio-economic uplift of the society specially youth.

Consul General of Germany in Karachi, Mr. Holger Ziegeler, said that, “the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) along with its development partners EU and Norway are supporting the reforms in technical education in Pakistan since long. Our efforts are to have as-good vocational and technical training system here as it is in Germany. Today while seeing all these graduates having choice of the employment search as per the same demand-driven aspects of industry is the real showcasing of what we had aimed for.”

First Secretary, Team Leader Governance & Education, European Union Delegation in Pakistan Mr. Sven RUESCH while speaking at the occasion said that the European Union is happy to see the results of TVET Sector Support Programme specially in the area of industry-linkages. “We are supporting the TVET sector reforms in Pakistan since 2011 and are happy to witness the results of our support now. We also hope that the sustainability of this whole initiative remains clearly evident through the GoP’s supported programmes as it is now, Mr. RUESCH said.

This Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021, was conducted to meet employment objectives for over 1,000 openings of private industry, CBT trainees and graduates had their skills shown, notably in key economic areas, and held on-the-spot interviews by the recruitment enterprises of private sector.

Moreover, a panel discussion on the topic ‘Employment for Economic Sustainability and the Role of the Private Sector in TVET’ was conducted. All the panellists put forward their expert opinions on the training and human resource development aspects. The panel discussion ended with closing remarks by the ambassadors and the chief guest.  The Hunar Rozgar Mela 2021 was concluded with the insights from the leading representatives of TVET academia and industry like Head of HR, KIA Lucky Motors, Mr. Ashaar Saeed; Director General Sindh, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission, Ms. Nabila Umar, Chairman, Sindh Technical Education, and Vocational Training Authority, Mr. Saleem Raza Jalbani, Dr. Fatima Khushnud Head of Policy, Research and New Business, Engro Energy Limited and Mr. Olaf Handloegten, Cluster Coordinator, Training and Sustainable Growth for Decent Jobs, GIZ-Pakistan.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Leading smartphone manufacturer & innovator, OPPO is planning to upgrade its assembly plant to manufacturing plant in Pakistan. The company has set target to manufacture 5 million mobile phones per annum.

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar met with CEO OPPO Pakistan, George Long in his office. During meeting, CEO apprised the minister that the company is optimistic to export locally manufactured sets from Pakistan.

George highlighted that his company is also aiming to establish R&D center for transfer of technology and skill development of IT professionals in Pakistan. While welcoming the announcement of OPPO Pakistan, minister said that GoP’s investment-friendly policies have improved the business ecosystem in Pakistan.

He said that local manufacturing will keep prices under control for local customers of mobile phones, but it will also enable expansion of the mobile phone industry to become bigger player in economy. He said that this growth would result in the creation of numerous employment opportunities within the industry as well as associated industries in the country.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Prime Minister Imran Khan will land in Karachi today on a day-long visit to perform the groundbreaking of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. The prime minister will be accompanied by Railways Minister Azam Swati and other federal ministers.

All arrangements in this regard have been finalized at the Karachi Cantonment railway station. The ceremony will be held at a newly constructed guest house of the cantonment railway station.

In a statement issued here, the Sindh governor confirmed that PM Imran Khan will arrive in Karachi to lay the foundation stone of the circular railway project aimed at facilitating the local people in the metropolis on Monday.

The Green Line Bus Rapid Transit System will be inaugurated by next month, he said, adding that the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme, better known as the K-IV project, will be completed by the end of 2023.

During his day-long stay in the metropolis, the prime minister will chair several meetings at Governor House, Karachi to get a briefing on ongoing development projects in the port city, security situation and the overall political situation of the province.

KCR project:

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) yesterday approved a summary regarding the construction of infrastructure for the elimination of level crossings for the loop section of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR).

The project envisages the construction of flyovers and underpasses along the route of KCR for the elimination of 22-level crossings. The rationalised cost of the project is Rs20.71 billion on a cost-sharing basis. The project will facilitate the free movement of the KCR train.

KCR envisaged the construction of a 43km-long world-class affordable mass transit system using environment-friendly electric trains.

 

Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi elected unopposed chairman PVMA for the term 2021-22.

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The 347^th meeting of the PVMA executive committee was held on Saturday in Islamabad to elect the office barriers for the year 2021-22. The executive committee un-opposed Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi for the slot of chairmanship.Likewise Sheikh Amjad Rasheed and Sheikh Kashif Razzaq elected unopposed as senior vice chairman and vice chairman respectively.

Mr. Abdul Waheed outgoing chairman announced the results. Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi is assuming the charge for second time from 1^st October 2021.

Mr. Tariq Ullah Sufi being seasoned and experienced businessman assures to utilize his full potential to resolve the problems currently faced by the industry.

Other members of the executive committee elected for the term 2021-23 are Mr. Atif Ikram Sheikh, Mian M. Ashfaq Malik,Mr. Hassan Munawar, Mr. M Muneeb Monnoo, Mr. Anjum Rehmat, Mr. haseeb ur Rehman, Mr. Nasir Saleem, Sh Amjad Rasheed,Mr. Ehtisham Javaid, Raja Abubakar Farooq.

The Edible oil sector of Pakistan, comprising of 137 units, manufactures 4.5 million M. tons of Banaspati and Cooking Oil to meet annual national demand. The sector also contributes handsomely in national exchequer in terms of duty and taxes, hence placed in top five revenue spinners of Pakistan.

 

 

 

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Samsung is all set to establish its TV line-up plant in Pakistan according to a tweet by advisor to the prime minister on commerce and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood. The plant will be collaboration with R&R Industries in Karachi which will produce the TV sets for the South Korean company which has established itself as a global leader.

The plant “will become functional in Q4 of 2021 and is expected to produce 50,000 units annually,” tweeted Dawood. “This is a vindication of MOC’s “Make-in-Pakistan” policy for industrialization via rationalization of input costs and other incentives,” he added.

In July, the South Korean company had signed an agreement with Lucky Motor Corporation to begin manufacturing its phones in Pakistan. Samsung’s decision to assemble phones in Pakistan was an indication of the success of the Mobile Device Manufacturing Policy (MDMP) launched by the government in June 2020.

The vision of the policy was clear that by 2022, 80% of all mobile phones sold in Pakistan should be locally manufactured. Last year in August, Prime Minister Imran Khan had declared that the government was vigorously pursuing a Make-in-Pakistan policy to promote export-oriented industrialization in the country.

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Islamabad (NUT-DESK):

Bahria Town Management and AAA Associates hosted a seminar on “awareness of FATF regulations and registration” on 17th September, 2021. The event was organized at Pearl Continent, Rawalpindi. The honorable chief guests on this auspicious occasion were Directors HQ Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Nasir Ahmed, and Zafar Iqbal, President Realtor Federation Sardar Tahir and Chairman Realtor Federation Musarat Ejaz Khan.

Pakistan has been on the FATF’s grey list for strategic deficiencies in its counter-terror financing, anti-money laundering and proliferation financing rules since June 2018. The Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions has sought cooperation of real estate associations all over the country to meet requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in relation to non-financial businesses and professions to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. The seminar aimed to assist Estate builders regarding the new regulations and hoped that Estate Builders would continue to comply with the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) laws and regulations.

The guest speakers Directors HQ Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions Nasir Ahmed and Zafar Iqbal apprised members of real estate associations about the FATF’s requirements in relation to DNFBPs and called for collective efforts of the government and real estate agents to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism.

Ejaz Khan and Sardar Tahir, Chairman and President of the Federation of Realtors Pakistan, and office bearers of Real Estate Associations partook in the seminar and assured the builders about the positive aspects of these regulations.

In this seminar various estate builders from twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi participated. The sole purpose of the event was to address challenges pertaining to construction industry amid FATF crises.The seminar was followed by delightful dinner.

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Lahore(NUT-DESK)

Facebook is rolling out new ways for businesses to find and chat with potential customers on its apps, the social media company said Thursday, as it seeks to become an online shopping destination.

The new features will help Facebook, already a leader in digital advertising, offer personalised shopping experiences to its users, said Karandeep Anand, vice president of business products at Facebook.

Businesses will now be able to add a button on their Instagram profiles to let people send a WhatsApp message to the company with one click.

Integrating WhatsApp is particularly important for customers in countries such as India and Brazil, where the Facebook-owned messaging app is widely used, Anand said.

Facebook said it will begin testing the ability for brands to send emails through Facebook Business Suite, a feature that lets businesses manage their presence across the social media site’s apps, in order to simplify how companies reach customers.

It will also test new work accounts to let employees manage business pages without needing to log in with their personal accounts.

The new business tools come a day after WhatsApp began testing a new feature in São Paulo, Brazil, to let users find shops and services through a directory in the app for the first time, part of an effort to bolster ecommerce on the service.