News Update Times

Lahore (NUT DESK) The brand building and globalization strategies keep magnifying Haier’s brand influence. Haier has been included in Fortune Global 500 and Haier has ranked no 1 Global Major Appliance brand for 12 consecutive years. Haier is also on the list of BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands. Haier celebrates its phenomenal success both on a global scale and here in Pakistan as the #1 choice of home appliances for consumers.

Every Year Haier celebrates its achievement, trust of its stakeholders, position in home appliance industry and innovative product launches in a mega event Haier Brand Seminar. Haier Brand Seminar 2022 is one of the biggest events marked on the calendar for the home appliance industry in Pakistan. This year, Haier has announced ‘Forward Together’ as a core message where Haier acknowledged their customers, dealers, business partners, employees and distribution network, and credited them as a major part of the brand’s success and made them believed that together we will move forward.

Haier Brand Seminar 2022 enlightened the audience about the smart products that are further going to ease our lifestyle. This year’s Haier brought a whole range of interactive smart products, smarter technology, smart services, systems and platforms. Haier gave a live experience of smart home scenarios at the Haier Brand Seminar where smart living room, smart kitchen and smart bedroom were set up and the attendees experienced the interconnectivity of home appliances and they were given demonstration of interactive smart products and devices for better understanding. And the audience were so amazed to see the new innovative smart products.

This year Haier Refrigerators are the Digital Inverter + Real Freshness Expert, keeping fruits and vegetables fresh. Haier Air Conditioner are now voice controlled and Haier Commercial Air Conditioner, are engineered to provide smart inverter and healthy living. Haier Deep Freezers have a complete range of convertible freezers now. Haier Washing Machines incorporates the One Touch Solution to enhance the performance and Haier Front-Load models were specifically manufactured to stand apart for better wash. Haier’s LED TVs with the hands-free voice control features is what we really look forward to this year. Haier COOKING brings safe, healthy, and smart kitchen appliances.

Haier Pakistan’s focus on building an eco-brand for IoT era has inspired many lives within the country, and continues to revolutionize the ecosystem of the home appliance market. With a massive range of products ready to meet the needs and wants of consumers, Haier Pakistan continues to win and inspire hearts across the nation and it will continue to listen to its customers. Here’s to another year of building an inspiring future together as we all move forward together into the IoT era.

CPPA-G and LUMS join hands for capacity building of Power sector entities in Pakistan under the envisaged CTBCM regime

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) A two-day follow-up training workshop for the officer and engineering professionals of DISCOs (Distribution companies) was arranged on January 7, 2022 under the banner of Power Sector Centre of Excellence (PSCE) established at LUMS in Lahore. PSCE is a training and knowledge hub founded jointly by CPPA-G (Central Power Purchasing Agency) and LUMS Energy Institute (LEI). The training was attended by 80 participants comprising of officials from Distribution Companies (DISCOs), National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and CPPA-G. This Module-II was a continuation of Module-I of the course, where the detailed methodology of Medium-term Demand Forecast (MTDF) was explored. Participants were also given intensive knowledge about the Power Market Survey tool used to gauge bottom up demand forecasting, acknowledged for providing high accuracy for medium-term demand forecasting around the world.

Under the upcoming Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM), it is imperative for the power sector entities to create a mutual environment of learning, sharing and facilitation to modernise and innovate within the competitive electricity market in Pakistan. All involved power entities should work in collaboration with leading academic institutions to popularise the best practices in the sector as per international standards, said Mr. Waseem Mukhtar, Additional Secretary – Power Division and CEO – CPPA-G.

Dr. Fiaz Chaudhry, Director LEI and Programme Director PSCE, said “PSCE was established at LUMS to impart trainings to power sector professionals and equip them with skills needed for long-term integrated system planning. In collaboration with CPPA, we have operationalised PSCE by successfully completing the training on Medium-term Demand Forecasting which sets the foundation for planning decisions and secure operations of the power system. Robust methodology and accurate forecasts of electricity demand leads to optimal generation and network investments.”

Mr. Omer Haroon Malik, Head Market Operations and Development CPPA-G and Principal Counterpart PSCE, expressed that the long-term financial viability of the power sector depends on improving the efficiency of electricity distribution companies that deliver electricity to consumers. With the introduction of the CTBCM regime in May 2022, these efforts will improve the market discipline, and therefore, the operational and financial performance of the distribution companies.

The course was divided into two modules. Module-I covered the course material in a duration of five days held in October 2021, while Module-II was a follow-up for discussion on the prepared forecasts of DISCOs based on the techniques learnt in Module-I. Successful candidates will be issued credentials for completing the course.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Keeping in mind the emergence of online shopping, Bookme has stepped up again to provide amazing discounts and offers for online shoppers of Pakistan, in collaboration with the most trusted name in the bedding and furniture industry, Masters Molty Foam.

This is going to be a well-timed offer with the most favorable discounts for customers. Bookme provides seamless e-tickets and online bookings whereas Molty Foam satisfies its customers through comfort of its products, therefore this collaboration is the literal meaning of comfort and easy travelling on the same table for continuous 2 months. Master MoltyFoam has been a pioneer in the mattress industry for over 50 years. The years of experience, profound knowledge, and skilled team have paved the way for continuous innovation to provide the most restful sleep.

State of the art technology, finest craftsmanship, strict quality controls, and continuous consumer interactions ensure that MoltyFoam achieves the highest level of perfection in the products. The criteria of the offer is as follows: Bookme customers buying any ticket from the website would get a 10% flat discount for the Master Molty Foam website on all products (promo would be given one time to each customer) MasterMolty Foam customers buying anything for PKR 6,000 and above would get a 15% discount on bus tickets.

MasterMolty Foam customers buying anything worth PKR 10,000 or above would get a 15% discount on bus tickets or 5% discount on Domestic Air tickets Message from the Director: Natalia Malik | Director, Master Group of Industries We, at Master MoltyFoam, are committed to making our customer’s shopping experience stress-free while offering the best incentives in all the ways we can. With our recent collaboration with Bookme.pk, we are thrilled to bring forth our mutual commitment towards customer satisfaction and making their journey a memorable one. We are cognizant of the fact that the happier and well-served the customers are, the more reliable a brand is, in the eyes of the public.

With this collaboration, both us and Bookme.pk will usher in a new era of comfortable shopping for our clients. Note: The duration of these offers is 2 months.

Aiming to break into the premium segment, Founder and CEO Sky Li pens an annual open letter for 2022

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) As 2021 has come to a close, realme, the fastest-growing smartphone brand, has just released its annual open letter looking back on a breakthrough year. realme cemented its position as a mainstream global smartphone brand, ranking 6^th overall in terms of shipments. realme Founder and CEO Sky Li penned an open letter to chart the immediate future for the company as it builds on the momentum in 2022.

realme became the fastest smartphone brand ever to ship more than 100 million smartphones globally in August 2021. Following this record-breaking achievement, realme’s annual smartphone sales volume has reached a record high of 60 million units, which increase 50% over the previous year.

Already a Top 5 brand in 21 different markets, realme aims to develop its mature ecosystem to cater to global users. The emerging company has built on its strong 5G foundation, expanding its role as a 5G Democratizer globally and becoming the fastest-growing 5G Android brand in Q3 2021.

In Pakistan alone, realme is heading into 2022 with a sales-first approach. At the turn of the year, the company signed up with three leading distribution partners such as Airlink Communications, United Mobile and M&P which underscores Pakistan’s significance for realme and our growth outlook and demand.

These opportunities powerfully presented realme’s growth and progress in 2021, enabling it to look even further and higher in 2022. As a trendsetter amongst global brands, realme has aligned its brand values with its user base to enable them to leap into the future with confidence.

“We will pursue ever greater innovations in technology and design to break into the Premium Segment with 70% of the company’s R&D resources focusing on high-end tech” says Sky Li. realme is keeping its commitment with its first-ever premium flagship – realme GT 2 series.

Watching events unfold throughout the year, 2021 was a strong year for realme. realme will continue to engage more young people to share the company’s core value of “Dare to Leap”. 2022 will be a brighter year, collectively and individually.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) CarFirst, Pakistan’s most trusted used car trading platform in the digital automotive industry has announced that it has once again signed Wasim Akram the legendary sports icon as their brand ambassador for 2022. CarFirst aims to become the best-used car trading platform in Pakistan and by bringing the most known and loved cricket legends for their brand promotion.

CarFirst’s campaign also focuses on promoting brand advocacy through reuniting one of the greatest partnerships in cricket history by bringing the legendary pacers 2Ws (Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis) together on one screen for the first time after 26 years. Legendary duo Waqar and Wasim together are still remembered as the most lethal old-ball partnership in cricket world of all time. With this collab, CarFirst has injected much-needed excitement into the used car industry. According to Raja Murad Khan, Founder & CEO of CarFirst, "We’re excited to work with Wasim Akram once again, his fan following and trusted words will take the CarFirst to another level in 2022.

CarFirst promises to deliver its customers not only the best, but the fastest service all over Pakistan, and aiming to grow by having Wasim as part of the team automatically sets every speed benchmark to the pace of his Yorkers." Commenting on the collaboration, Wasim Akram has said “It’s a pleasure to once again work with a brand that is so focused on exceeding customer expectations by consistently coming up with new technological innovations to revolutionize how used cars are traded in Pakistan. I look forward to embarking on this journey with them.” This partnership will allow CarFirst to leverage the fan following and credibility of Wasim and Waqar to spread its brand message of transparent & hassle-free car buying & selling.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) foodpanda, the leading food delivery platform and e-commerce company in the country, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Government of Gilgit Baltistan to bring forth economic empowerment in the region. A signing ceremony took place at foodpanda headquarters in Karachi whereby Hussain Shah, Minister of Information Technology and Special Assistant to Chief Minister from Government of GB, and Nauman Sikandar, CEO foodpanda along with other dignitaries were present.

Under the MoU, both the parties will be working together to generate economic opportunities for the masses. foodpanda shall accelerate its operations in GB through different verticals such as restaurants, pandamart, shops, etc., and government of GB will facilitate this expansion by creating a favourable business environment.

While sharing his views, NaumanSikandar, CEO foodpanda, said, “We are accelerating our actions to economically empower people of GB by expanding our services via restaurants, shops, homechefs, pandamart and panda kitchens. This will not only enable people to earn a respectable livelihood but will also create financial and digital inclusion for the people of GB. We will utilise our extensive reach and network to create awareness and highlight this initiative #MYGB to mark our commitment towards this cause.”

Also expressing his views Hussain Shah, Minister of Information Technology and Special Assistant to Chief Minister GilgitBaltistan said “I am thankful to foodpanda for promoting economic empowerment and extending their services for the cause. Our people are extremely hardworking and they deserve lucrative opportunities which foodpanda has to offer. We will ensure smooth expansion of the company through our IT Ministry and shall provide assistance to foodpanda in terms of internet infrastructure, acquisition of lands and any other local requirements. We will also make our lock produce such as meat, dry fruits, minerals and the likes available on pandamart for this strategic partnership.”

Bank Alfalah and Allied Ecommerce Solutions collaborate to provide Digital Payment Infrastructure to online business in Pakistan

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Bank Alfalah, one of the largest commercial banks in Pakistan with significant digital banking business and Allied Ecommerce Solution, dedicated ecommerce solution enabler, have collaborated to provide digital payment infrastructure to online businesses – small and medium sized enterprises & home based businesses – selling via online platforms all across Pakistan and internationally.

The scope of this alliance is to extend Alfa Payment Gateway services to online retailers and help them grow their existing businesses by tapping into the online space. This solution enables online retailers to collect payments in real time in a simple and secure manner from their customers via multiple payment modes e.g. Pay via link, Credit and Debit cards, Bank Alfalah Wallets and Alfa Bank Accounts.

Group Executive Digital Banking at Bank Alfalah, Yahya Khan was pleased to commemorate this partnership and stated “This partnership is indeed in line with the Bank’s vision to convert cash to digital services for its customers. It demonstrates our commitment to collaborate with FinTechs and Technology companies and invest into fruitful business expansion partnerships to enable merchants in Pakistan to enter the online marketplace”.

The CEO of Allied Ecommerce Solution – Ahad Rehman stated, “ The pandemic has accelerated the growth of E-Commerce in Pakistan, but many brands are struggling to adapt to these changes, and this is where this strategic partnership steps in to drive brand experience, commercial growth, and high CXP with seamless payment integrations.”