News Update Times

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Committed to its purpose of empowering societies, Telenor Pakistan, via its Velocity programme, has collaborated with Sehat Kahani, a tele-medicine startup, to bring quality and affordable digital healthcare solutions to the masses of Pakistan. The collaboration was recently celebrated through a memorandum of understanding at Telenor Campus 345 in Islamabad in the presence of well-reputed and seasoned personalities and professionals from various sectors.

Sehat Kahani is a health tech enterprise, which connects patients to doctors using audio and video-based tele-medicine solutions. Sehat Kahani has a network of 35 e-health Clinics all over Pakistan for low income communities and a mobile application for round-the-clock video consultations with doctors at subsidised rates. Till date Sehat Kahani has catered to more than half a million patients nationwide.

On this occasion Khurrum Ashfaque, Chief Operating Officer at Telenor Pakistan commented, “Telenor Pakistan is committed to empowering societies while harnessing the potential of digital. Our partnership with Sehat Kahani is a step towards the same. Together, as a digital enabler, we intend to make healthcare accessible for the masses, whenever and wherever possible.”

Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer for Sehat Kahani, Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram added, “Many Pakistanis do not get healthcare in our country due to lack of access, affordability and quality. Sehat Kahani will now provide quality online doctors to 49 million Telenor Pakistan customers enabling them to pay for consultations using their mobile balance through Direct Operator Billing. We are confident that the subsidised cost of the consultations will further increase the reach of the service to the masses.” and more and more Pakistanis will be able to benefit from quality healthcare.

The Telenor Velocity program offers startups equity-free support for four months. Telenor Velocity is enabling Pakistan’s tech startups to co-create digital products and services, scaling them on Telenor’s digital assets. The enrolled start-ups in each cohort benefit from domain expert coaching, data analytics, product development support, access to global partner and mentor network.

realme Presents a Bumped-up version of the realme GT Master Edition with 256GB Memory

The realme GT Master Edition is realme’s first 5G flagship offering in Pakistan that has been touted as Smartphone of the Year by being the No. 01 5G Smartphone to be sold on Daraz during the 11.11 Salebration

The anticipation around realme GT Master Edition doesn’t seem to end as realme has introduced a 256GB version of its flagship 5G offering. The smartphone’s bumped up version will be available for pre-order from Wednesday, November 17 onwards for PKR 72,999/- in offline channels while it can be pre-ordered on Saamaan.pk as well. The realme GT Master Edition has kept realme fans hinged since its global announcement, for its specifications dealt an industry coup by being top-notch and yet the most affordable.

The realme GT Master Edition was hailed by technology reviewers and media publishers as a highly-awaited, game-changing device with some calling it the true Smartphone of the Year. The phone also did phenomenally well during the 11.11 Salebration on Daraz by being the most sought after 5G smartphone. It broke all first-sales records of 5G smartphones on Daraz and stood as the No. 01 5G smartphone during the mega sales event.

Now that the realme GT Master Edition has a bumped up memory, it just adds one more reason for you to buy it. Here are the other reasons as a refresher:

A Trendy New Design by Naoto Fukasawa

Talk of minimalism, talk of the future – the realme GT Master Edition embodies both. It has been masterfully crafted by renowned Japanese industrial design maestro Naoto Fukasawa to resemble a traveling suitcase. With an industry-first concave vegan leather body, the realme GT Master Edition is eye catching and captivating in a glance. It comes in Voyager Grey and Daybreak Blue colours – both shades that are uplifting and trendy.

A Powerhouse Performance

Under the vegan leather hood, realme GT Master Edition runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G processor. With its 6nm process, the phone gives a 40% better peak performance delivering a flagship experience like no other.

A Captivating Display

We all get a lot of screen time on our smartphones, so what better than a 120Hz Super AMOLED display that keeps you hooked onto your gadget? The realme GT Master Edition comes with an outclass display that is rich and captivating at the same time measuring 6.43 inches of screen-space.

A Battery to Outlast and Get Back Up Fast

The ultimate performance cannot be possible without an outlasting battery. The realme GT Master Edition comes with a 4,300mAh battery and a 65W SuperDart Charge that never lets the power run out. So there is more for you to do on your realme GT Master Edition.

#MasteryBeyondSpeed

What’s a smartphone phone without a good camera? The slim and lightweight smartphone that feels premium to the touch has more to offer than just HD screen and a powerful processor. With high-end flagship specifications, the realme GT Master Edition brings a 64MP Street Photography camera. It has a special street photography mode that captures ecstatic daily life images and makes them look like a story.

The realme GT Master Edition now comes in 128GB and 256GB variants. The 128GB variant is available for PKR 66,999/- while the 256GB variant can be pre-booked for PKR 72,999/-.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Constructors Association of Pakistan (CAP) drawing attention of the government towards soaring prices of construction material has called for allowing inflation effect for ongoing contracts to help save the constructors from defaults. It claimed that overall prices of construction materials have registered an increase of 43 per cent from March 2020 to October 2021 making constructors unable to even continue the ongoing official projects. Engr. Kamal Nasir Khan, Constructors Association of Pakistan (CAP)

Chairman in an appeal to the government said that the federal government had allowed such an inflation impact in 2004 through SRO No. 26/(183)Plan Cord-II/PC/2004 dated 11th June, 2004. He appreciated the government plan for construction of five million houses as when construction moves-the country moves. However, being partner in the construction process for materializing the government vision, they think that continuation of work on awarded rates is not possible now. Giving details, he said steel prices had increased by 76 per cent during March 2020 to October 2021, cement increased by 52 per cent, Bitumen by 101 per cent, cable by 43 per cent, aggregates by 68 per cent, sand by 59 per cent, aluminum by 74 per cent PVC pipe by 52 per cent and ceramic tiles by 24 per cent during the same period. US dollar had also registered increase of 14.56 per cent in the same period while its flight is still continuing pushing prices of construction material further up. He said construction sector which is the second largest sector, after agriculture, in creating employment and runs more than 40 allied manufacturing industries are directly involved with construction. However, like other sectors pandemic COVID-19 has also impact growth of this sector because of phenomenal increase in the prices of its raw material.

Engr. Kamal Nasir Khan said with overall increase in prices by 43 percent, current construction contracts have become unviable, pushed housing beyond reach of common man and unemployed skilled/unskilled labour and other technicians. Calling for immediate mitigating steps, CAP chairman requested the government to allow inflation effect, revise escalation formula where already escalation is provided, allow import of steel bars/billet and bitumen on zero tariff and banning cement exports for reduction of its prices in the local market. He was of the view that these steps could help the dwindling construction industry.

• Ericsson will support state-of-the-art network optimization and event management in eight connected stadiums across six cities.

• Network management partnership covers 5G experiences in airports, fan zones and major tourist attractions.
• By utilizing the full potential of 5G, Ericsson and Ooredoo Qatar will deliver seamless, immersive, and high-performance experiences.

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and Ooredoo Qatar are partnering to ensure that hundreds of thousands of football fans from around the world will enjoy the best next-gen 5G connectivity experiences possible – inside several event stadiums and across the country – when Qatar hosts a major global football tournament from November to December 2022.

The partners will provide network optimization and event management and 5G connectivity in eight stadiums across six cities, as well as in dedicated fan zones, airports, and places of attraction.

The partnership will see Ericsson and Ooredoo Qatar managing 5G radio access network (RAN) operation performance across the network through Ericsson Managed Services solutions.

Football fans will be able to enjoy the connectivity experience benefits even sooner as Ooredoo Qatar and Ericsson are also teaming up on event network management for a regional tournament in Qatar from 30 November to 18 December 2021.

Ericsson and Ooredoo Qatar’s ongoing 5G- focused nationwide network modernization is enabling Ooredoo Qatar to swiftly deploy new technology towards the goal of nationwide 5G coverage.

The strengthened Ericsson-powered RAN network will enable Ooredoo Qatar to offer and facilitate fan use cases based on enhanced mobile broadband, with very high network speeds, low latency, and large data capacity. Fans will be able to enjoy high-definition real-time interactivity and streaming experiences.

Ericsson Radio System products and solutions have been used in stadiums in other parts of the  world to boost connectivity and increase capacity, giving fans a superior ability to stream live from the sports venue in addition to interactive communication and social networking services.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Al Thani, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Ooredoo Qatar says: “Expectations are running high for the major football tournament in Qatar in 2022, making it ever more important for us to leverage the full potential of 5G. As a global pioneer of the fifth generation technology, we aim to deliver seamless experiences to visitors as well as spectators and provide a highly digital, immersive and intelligent Qatar 2022 tournament experience to our subscribers. We are thrilled to partner with Ericsson in demonstrating the best of cellular technology and ensuring a world-class immersive experience at the most anticipated sporting event in the Middle East.”

Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa says: “After equipping Qatar’s stadiums with the best-in-class Ericsson Radio System, we are thrilled to partner with Ooredoo to bring our sports event management and network operations expertise to Qatar. We look forward to power a fully 5G-enabled football tournament, leveraging the combination of extensive capacity, high speed, and low latency that will enable us to deliver interactive, digital, and immersive sporting experiences to football fans. Through our expertise and experience, we aspire to support our customers around the world to deliver exceptional, high-performance, digital, and immersive fan experiences at major sporting events.”

With 5G delivering the capabilities for advanced and time-critical services at scale, combined with a strong demand for mobile sports applications, communications service providers now have a great opportunity to take the stadium experiences to the next level.

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) is a leading global bank which has partnered with TPL Trakker – the most advanced IoT Company in Pakistan, for Tracking, Telematics, Mapping and Location-Based Services. This strategic alliance has created a one-window solution to manage and secure the automobiles financed by the bank, as the Auto-Financing sector in Pakistan has risen to an unprecedented volume of 338 billion Rupees. Through this resourceful partnership, TPL Trakker will provide cutting-edge facilities like Warehousing, Vehicle-Monitoring Systems and Direct-Tracking of vehicles.

Standard Chartered Bank Pakistan will leverage these services to enrich its offerings and auto-finance solutions. As the demand is forecasted to grow significantly in future, the evolving needs of the car-financing sector need to be catered to, while these financed-assets can be monitored for complete safety, to ensure the consumers’ peace of mind. A ceremony was recently held to sign this agreement, and the Country Credit Head of Consumer, Private & Business Banking (CPBB) at Standard Chartered Bank – Mr. Hamid Sameen and the Chief Executive Officer of TPL Trakker – Mr. Sarwar Ali Khan, personally graced this event, along with several senior executives from their award-winning and innovative organizations.

On this occasion Chief Executive Officer TPL Trakker – Mr. Sarwar Ali Khan said, “Through this collaboration with Standard Chartered, we want people to drive their favorite cars without worrying about security. We are committed to enable the banks in Pakistan to meet their financial obligations with no worries about uncertainties and adversity. Our facilities are adding more convenience and safety to the auto-financing services offered by the banks.”

Hamid Sameen, Country Credit Consumer, Private & Business Banking (CPBB) SCBP on the occasion said, “Creating exceptional value and convenience for our consumers is always our top priority at Standard Chartered Pakistan. We are creating synergies with the most progressive enterprises, to go beyond our customers’ expectations in ensuring financial-security and a higher quality of life. Our innovative Auto-Finance solutions are built to address major challenges, while we have established a diverse portfolio of discerning clients, who want the best of facilities, protected and backed by the most reliable companies, like TPL Trakker.”

Standard Chartered Bank has been operating in Pakistan since 1863. Over the recent decades, establishing a strong auto-financing market in Pakistan has become an important part of its growth strategy, to enable socio-economic prosperity for the whole nation. SCB was also the pioneer of an Islamic-Banking branch network in Pakistan – ‘Saadiq’, which is now offering a wide range of Islamic-Financing products. SCB Car-Financing include Islamic mode only , while its operations are backed by state-of-the-art digital technologies.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Infinix brings an end to the wait for the most anticipated AMOLED display smartphone in Pakistan, available for just PKR 29,999, with the launch of the Infinix NOTE 11 AMOLED Stunner. This will be the first time for a smartphone with a superior 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display to be sold in this price range in the country. 

The Infinix NOTE 11 comes in a 7.9mm wide ultra-sleek, lightweight design, with 400 layers of Nano-coating and mirror-quality reflectiveness, which is available in three individual colour shades inspired by the Milky Way: the Graphite Black, Celestial Snow, and Glacier Green. Embedded with a full HD+ Waterdrop display, the Infinix NOTE 11 supports the AndroidTM 11 operating system and comes in 2 variants: 4GB and 6GB.

Unveiling the spectacular new smartphone model in Pakistan, Joe Hue, CEO Infinix Pakistan, stated, “We are excited for the launch of the NOTE 11 series with which Infinix has chosen to challenge the industry norms by offering the most premium devices equipped with cutting-edge technology and trendy design elements to its esteemed users all around the world.”

Infinix aims to bring to its users a high quality smartphone experience, by offering ease, innovation, and affordability through its tailored devices. The AMOLED display offers better viewing experience with truly vivid colour quality and brightness, even under direct sunlight, and is easy on the eyes. The handset carries a 5000mAh battery that lasts all day long, with a 33W super-fast charging capacity that is TUV-Certified for safe charging. 

The Infinix NOTE 11 AMOLED Stunner carries a rear quad camera setup, with a 50MP f/1.6 wide aperture camera that allows moments to be captured in their finest details. The handset also features a 16MP front camera with exceptional quality for selfies and video calls, supporting 1080p quality at 30fps video recording. The smartphone is equipped with MediaTek Helio G88 SoC gaming-focused dual chipset processor, which has a pair of Cortex-A75 CPU and 6GB RAM.

The Infinix NOTE 11 Stunner is now available for pre-order from its retailer website Daraz.pk. Infinix is the first official Diamond Co-Sponsor for Daraz 11.11 annual mega sale, and is offering up to 30% discount on the newly launched smartphone line-up of HOT, Zero, and the NOTE series, along with other devices.

Blue-Ex have joined hands with PayPro for providing the most innovative E-commerce integrated payment solutions to Blue-Ex’s Customers.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Blue-Ex is an established E-commerce Courier & Logistics Company in Pakistan, currently in process for public listing very soon on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the Pakistan’s first Tech-Logistics Company, while PayPro is a financial technology company offering merchant bill aggregation and payments gateway solutions with the largest merchant base in Pakistan serving both MSME’s as well large corporates across all business sectors.

BlueEx is all set to provide convenience, flexibility, and payment security to its customers through PayPro’s digital payments platform. Customers will be able to make their payments with their Debit/Credit Cards through PayPro’s Online Payment Gateway, as well as Digital Bank Transfers directly from their respective bank’s internet banking portal or mobile banking and wallet apps. Additionally, invoiced customers will also be able to make payments through any 1LINK ATM, or even with cash at PayPro’s partner OTC cash payment collection points accessible throughout Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Imran Baxamoosa – CEO, BlueEx said “This initiative is a step forward in our business transformation and will facilitate BlueEx to broaden business reach and better cater to specific market segments backed by valuable business insights. Whereas customers will enjoy a seamless experience of performing convenient and hassle-free online transactions with their trusted logistics partner”.

Mr. Ali Janjua, CEO, PayPro also added “Digital transformation isn’t about any single project rather, it’s about changing the culture and transforming how you create and exchange value with customers or suppliers alike, and we aim to provide BlueEx customers a brand experience that’s worth sharing”.

This Fintech partnership will enable BlueEx to focus on providing a better brand experience and build long term customer relations, while the enterprise itself will accelerate business and simplify operations through PayPro’s platform’s dashboard reporting, interoperability between all financial institutions (Banks, FIs, MFIs, Wallets, etc.) and features like automated reconciliation, quicker settlement timelines, due date management, payment reminders and real-time tracking of receivables, providing an effortless one-window payment collection and cashflow management solution to its officers.