News Update Times

Lahore (Nut Desk)

ACCA Pakistan continues the momentum, converging thought leaders at “Pakistan Leadership Conversation 2022” to discuss key drivers for a Sustainable Growth for Pakistan.

Lahore & Karachi: ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Pakistan, in collaboration with SEED Ventures, closed a successful series of its flagship conferences Pakistan Leadership Conversation (PLC 2022) in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore respectively. The fourth edition of PLC centered on the theme “Rethinking our world: Sustainable growth for Pakistan” and brought together leading policy makers, thought leaders, corporate influencers, academia and business operators for a dialogue centered on the power of digital, sustainability/ESG, ethics and future ready workforce.

In Karachi, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Mr. Nadeem Hussain, Founder Planet N Group of Companies/Chairman Pakistan Fintech Network attended the event as Guest of Honour. Speaking on the topic of Accelerated Financial Inclusion, he said, “Digitalization plays an imperative role in enhancing social mobility and these shifts can not be made without understanding the customer need and creating the simplest customer journey.” Muhammad Ali Tabba, CEO Lucky Cement Limited as the Guest of Honour shared his thoughts on Opportunity and Size – Fast Tracking the investment landscape saying, “The distribution of energy, its mix and privatization is imperative for our growth agenda. Moreover, enabling make in Pakistan environment will help import substitution fueling employment, self-reliance and sustainable economic growth driven by exports. As a part of her keynote address, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson PSX and PICG spoke on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, while Re-calibrating our Practices for Sustainable Growth she said, “As Pakistan sets to become part of global economies through BRI / CPEC and export focused, strategy – relevance of diversity, equity and inclusion is extremely critical for all stakeholders to achieve the recognised global standards of performance and excellence.” The first session, titled, “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Re-calibrating Practices for Sustainable Growth” featured Ahsan Jamil, CEO, Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance; Farrukh H. Khan, Managing Director & CEO, Pakistan Stock Exchange; Maheen Rahman, CEO – InfraZamin Pakistan; Mohammad Shoaib, CEO – Al Meezan Investment Management Limited; Navid Fazil, CEO – Interloop Limited moderated by Sadia Dada, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, K-Electric. The second session was led by a key note address from Sadia Khan, Commissioner – Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan who shared her thoughts on the topic, ““Ethics, Technology, ESG – Accelerating national economic transformation”. She said, “”Ethical behaviour is at the core of good governance and sustainability. The importance of ESG and sustainability has been rightfully amplified in a short time with increased focus in the areas of financial reporting, investing and business practices.” Adding on to the guidelines issued by SECP on CSR, she added, “We introduce voluntary guides to enable good business practices that add value to the community”. The talk was moderated by Hena Sadiq, Partner Audit and Assurance – Yousuf Adil Chartered Accountants; Rana Nadeem, Partner – KPMG Taseer Hadi & Co.; Saquib Ahmad, Country Managing Director – SAP Pakistan; Shahzad Shahid, Group CEO – TPS Online; Zeeshan Shahid, Director Risk and Compliance – BYKEA Mr. Sharif Tabbani, Owner & Principal – Tabbani’s School of Accountancy also joined the event and spoke on the Talent, Technology & Transformation.

In Lahore, Salman Shah, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab on Economic Affairs and Planning & Development attended the event as the Guest of Honour. Speaking on the topic, “Re-thinking Sustainable Investment Landscape in Pakistan”, he said, “Government has shifted greater focus on sustainable development and enabling upskilling of businesses to benefit from e-market places like Amazon and Ali Baba. Clean and renewable energy is another imperative to the growth of our economy”. He further added, “Creating business hubs in Punjab with demographic sectoral focus is a key government priority to help create job opportunities, enhance economic activity and increase exports”. Also present as the Guest of Honour was Hashim Jawan Bakht, Finance Minister, Government of Punjab who shared his thoughts on – Talent, Technology & Transformation, he said, “Sustainable and inclusive economic growth is dependent upon agile, data driven and resilient government decision making. Recent policy improvements for technology sector is set to help bring in valuable foreign exchange. We must continue focus on digitalization and amplify ease of doing business to sustain the growth momentum”.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The leading Chinese smartphone brand, TECNO has officially unveiled the new Spark 8C phone in Pakistan. The announcement was made on the official Facebook page of TECNO Mobile Pakistan and the phone is now available in markets nationwide.

Spark is TECNO’s entry-level to mid-range series phone with high-tech features. The all-new Spark 8C comes as the latest addition to the most selling smartphone series of TECNO. With Expandable memory, Memory Fusion Technology, Iconic Design, and a stylish Camera, Spark 8C gained a huge fan base even before its launch.

The new phone comes in two variants 4+128GB (PKR 23,999) and 3+64GB (PKR 19,499). With an 8MP front camera, 13MP Rear AI dual camera, 6.56” HD+ Dot Notch Display, 90Hz refresh rate, and 5000mAh Battery, Spark 8C comes as a competitive device in the entry-level segment. Moreover, the phone will be available in four aesthetically stylish colors – Magnetic Black, Turquoise Cyan, Iris Purple, and Diamond Grey.

This is not all, the new Spark 8C brings its users new innovative features such as Expandable memory, Customized Beauty, Rear Camera decoration and Fingerprint sensor design, SOPLAY, other special audio features, and much more.

Kelvin Zeng, CEO of TECNO Mobile Pakistan shared his view on the latest launch,

“We are happy to introduce this latest budget-friendly device for our Pakistani consumers. With every new Spark device, we try our best to bring an innovation that makes our device remarkably more valuable than our competitors. Hence in Spark 8C, features like Memory fusion, its iconic design, and the stylish colors are our effort to bring more quality in less budget.”

So do not forget to get this amazing device from your nearest retailer. For more, follow TECNO’s official social media platforms.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Board of Management, Quaid-e-Azam House Museum – Institute of Nation Building observed Pakistan Day at Quaid-e-Azam House Museum Karachi on 23rd March, 2022.

The Flag hoisting ceremony was performed by Liaquat H. Merchant, Senior Vice Chairman and grandnephew of Quaid e Azam, Ikram Sehgal, Vice Chairman, Commodore (R) Sadeed Malik and members of the Board of Management, Quaid-e-Azam House Museum.

A student band from Ida Rieu School for special children played the National Anthem while the Pakistan flag was hoisted. Patriotic songs were sung by the students of Ida Rieu School, Jinnah Foundation School, and Hamdard Foundation School. 

Addressing the audience, Liaquat H. Merchant said that 23rd March was a special day in Pakistan at par with 14th August. Mr Merchant said that the principles, ideals and vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for Pakistan should always be kept in mind in order to achieve unity, faith and discipline. He encouraged students to read more about Quaid-e-Azam and understand his vision for Pakistan. Mr Merchant gave students copies of “QUOTES FROM THE QUAID” compiled by Liaquat H Merchant and the late Professor Sharif ul Mujahid and published by Lightstone Publishers.

Nadira Panjwani, a Member of the Board of Management spoke on the achievements of Quaid-e-Azam and the future prospects of Pakistan as a Muslim State. She presented students copies of “OUR QUAID” written by Amina Azfar and published by Lightstone Publishers. This book was the brainchild of Liaquat H Merchant and was a project of the Jinnah Society. Ms. Panjwani recommended that “OUR QUAID” be prescribed by the Sindh Government Education Department for use in government schools across Sindh. 

Amina Azfar said that she was pleased to write “OUR QUAID” for The Jinnah Society and hoped that the book would be widely read by students in Pakistan.

Ikram Sehgal said that, following the success of the Inter-School Declamation Competition 2022, the 23rd March 2022 event was also highly successful as it motivated students to attend, help hoist the flag and sing the National Anthem and patriotic songs. He advised students to read “OUR QUAID” and work hard to complete their studies and serve Pakistan to the best of their ability. 

Ikram Sehgal thanked Liaquat Merchant, Nadira Panjwani, Amina Azfar, and Ameena Saiyid of Lightstone Publishers for publishing this book as well as the teachers and students present. He further said that he and Mr. Liaquat Merchant, Commodore (R) Sadeed Malik and the entire Board of Management of Quaid-e-Azam House Museum under the guidance of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah will strive to make Quaid-e-Azam House an effective Institute of Nation building. 

The event was compered by Ameena Saiyid, a Member of the Board of Management.

Lahore (Nut Desk)

realme’s New Budget-Friendly realme 9i with Premium Specs is Setting the Market Ablaze

The mid-range smartphone is packed with attractive features without being a strain on your finances.

Since its launch in Pakistan, the realme 9i has really shaken up the smartphone market. The mid-range smartphone is popular with users who value performance at an economical price. realme has held activities and giveaways around the country to allow people to drop by and experience realme 9i or participate in the activities and have a chance to win the new smartphone. The realme 9i continues to carry the torch of innovation and tech democratization, which is the backbone of realme’s Number series.

With an attractive price tag of just PKR 36,999/-, realme 9i brings incredible performance, camera capabilities, battery life, and design to the price conscious consumer. Curious minds may wonder what exactly allows the realme 9i to deliver on all of these fronts so flawlessly so let’s take a deeper look inside the smartphone to get an understanding.

In order to deliver superior power, the realme 9i comes fitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 680 chipset featuring transistors that are 6nm in size. This size of transistors allows for higher transistor density than its 12nm counterparts would allow. This effectively leads to the system draining less power and the performance of the phone being boosted. The Snapdragon 680 processor on the realme 9i consumes 62% less power than a 12nm processor would which regulates the phone’s temperature, extends your battery life, and even stabilizes your frame rate. The Adreno 610 GPU found in the realme 9i’s Snapdragon processor provides support for the smartphone’s smooth 90Hz refresh rate. This greatly improves the general user experience by reducing blur in animation, scrolling and gaming so that your display is crystal clear regardless of the activity you are performing on your phone.

While on the surface 6GB RAM doesn’t seem like a lot that is not an accurate reflection of the realme 9i’s RAM capabilities as the handset comes with realme’s Dynamic RAM Expansion (DRE) technology which allows for an additional 5GB of virtual RAM. This allows users to take advantage of the smooth experience of a handset with up to 11GB RAM depending on their preferences.

The realme 9i isn’t just practical it’s also beautifully designed. It introduces a unique Stereo Prism Design, which presents a dynamic effect of three-dimensional light and shadow transformation across the back of the smartphone making it seem as if light is trapped inside the design and moving through it as you move the phone. realme gives you the choice between two eye-catching color variants for the 9i – Prism Black and Prism Blue. The uniqueness of the design is aided by the use of industry-leading, 8-layer optical coating on the phone’s back side providing layering and transparency. Light is refracted through multiple layers of nanoscale film and the glare is superimposed with high color saturation. This creates a stunning visual effect of light flowing through the smartphone.

One of the most sought-after features in a smartphone these days is a good camera. realme understands the needs of its consumers which is why the new realme 9i features an impressive 50 MP AI Triple Camera to fulfill all of your photography desires. For close-up photography of smaller subjects, the macro lens on the realme 9i can really help as it captures high amounts of detail of miniscule subjects. For more artistic shots, there is also a black and white portrait lens included so you can flex your creativity. You also get access to a range of different photography modes such as night mode, panoramic view, expert mode, time-lapse, portrait mode, HDR, ultra-macro, AI beauty, filter, super text, and slow-motion mode. The front camera of the realme 9i is also no joke. Boasting a 16MP HD selfie camera, the realme 9i allows you to take crisper, clearer, and more vibrant selfies.

Smartphones these days need to be able to keep up with the fast pace of life and its stringent demands that require heavy usage of phones. This is why the realme 9i comes equipped with 33W Dart Charge technology which can fully charge the handset’s massive 5000mAh battery in an astonishingly fast 70 minutes. This massive battery will also take its time to drain allowing you to use your phone without worries. With regular performance, the realme 9i can give you 995 hours of standby time, 48.4 hours of talk time, 20.7 hours of WhatsApp usage, or 116.3 hours of music playback. However, even when the realme 9i is in super power saving mode you can still get decent hours of usage. At 5% battery with super power saving mode enabled, you can still get 49.9 hours of standby time, 2.46 hours of talk time, 1.49 hours of WhatsApp usage, and 5.91 hours of music playback.

realme understands its consumers which is why every phone is created with the customer’s preferences and constraints in mind. The brand new realme 9i is available now in the 6GB RAM + 128GB ROM variant for just PKR 36,999/-. Grab yours today from any local mobile store around you before stock runs out.