News Update Times

Lahore (NUT Desk) Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said it has issued Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) regulations and has started receiving applications for mobile device manufacturing.

In a statement on Wednesday, the PTA said that the implementation of PTA’s Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DRIBS) in 2019 had resulted in significant increase in legal import of mobile devices and establishment of over 33 local assembly plants of mobile devices in Pakistan. These plants have produced over 25 million mobile devices including 4G smart phones since implementation of the system. The PTA said that with the successful execution of DRIBS, the local assembly industry had evolved from infancy to well growing stage, with significant growth seen in local assembly of smart phones. In 2019, only 119,639 smart phones were assembled locally whereas in 2020, the number of such devices grew to 2.1 million. It is important to highlight that the end of the second month of 2021, around 1.21 million smartphones have so far been assembled in Pakistan.

In the light of the tremendous impact of DRIBS, the government has introduced a comprehensive Mobile Manufacturing Policy to encourage and attract manufacturers to Pakistan and establish their plants. The PTA has issued MDM Regulations and has started receiving mobile device manufacturing applications. This initiative will help create more jobs in this technical sector, as well as enable consumers to buy locally manufactured mobile devices, the PTA added.

Lahore (NUT Desk) With a significant drop in cellphone smuggling,Pakistan’s mobile phone assembly segment grew by leaps and bounds and produced 1.21 million mobile phones in just two months (January and February) of 2021.

The output was significantly higher than just 119,639 mobile phones assembled in the entire 2019.

According to a statement issued by the  Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday, the implementation of Device Identification, Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) in 2019 led to a notable increase in legal imports of mobile devices.

It also helped to establish over 33 assembly plants of mobile devices in Pakistan, it said.

“These plants have produced over 25 million mobile devices including 4G smartphones after the introduction of DIRBS,” the PTA revealed. “Following successful execution of the system, the local assembly segment evolved from infancy to maturity stage with a significant growth in local assembly of smartphones.”

In light of the tremendous impact of DIRBS, the government introduced a comprehensive mobile manufacturing policy to attract international manufacturers to set up their plants in the country.

PTA highlighted that it recently issued the Mobile Device Manufacturing (MDM) Regulations following which a large number of mobile device manufacturing applications started flowing in.

“This initiative will help create more jobs in this technical sector as well as enable consumers to buy locally manufactured mobile devices,” it stated.

It pointed out that Pakistan had the distinction of implementing the world’s first open-source, full-fledged DIRBS.

The regulatory authority emphasised that DIRBS had the ability to identify all International Mobile Equipment Identities (IMEIs) connected to Pakistan’s mobile networks and categorise them according to their compliance status.

In recent times, the telecom sector has emerged as a prominent contributor to Pakistan’s economy as its share in the national exchequer soared 129% in 2020 compared to 2019, despite economic pressure arising from Covid-19.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Rafi Group, one of the largest land developers in Pakistan, organized a fabulous Green Palms Gala for its compliant customers recently, at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club in Lahore to announce the winners of the first lucky draw and showcase the prospects of investment in Gwadar.

At the event, Chairman Rafi Group Imtiaz Rafi Butt briefed the event’s attendees about the rising pace of developments in Gwadar in the wake of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its potential to turn around Pakistan’s economy. He also talked about the fast-track developments in the Green Palms Housing Project which is the premium housing project of Rafi Group in Gwadar.  He said that Green Palms Housing Project Gwadar was the largest private residential housing project as per the new NOC issued by Gwadar Development Authority. On the occasion, CEO Rafi Group Shehriar Imtiaz Rafi and Managing Director Shazil Imtiaz Rafi also addressed the attendees about the rich prospects of investment in Gwadar.

The event, in the end, featured a sensational musical performance by popular singer Farhan Saeed and a high-tea arrangement for the attendees.

It is pertinent to mention here that Rafi Group is the most trusted land developer in Pakistan that is serving the real estate sector since 1978 with no compromise on quality. It is the pioneer land developer in the property sector across Gwadar that set up the Green Palms Housing Project to catch up with housing needs as the coastal city is on the way to become a hub of global trade.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Faysal Bank Limited and National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), a capital market infrastructure institution of Pakistan. The Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company (PMRC) collaborated on the said initiative. Mudassir H. Khan, MD & CEO, PMRC was the Chief Guest at the occasion.

Under the agreement, NCCPL employees will be able to apply for Faysal Bank’s Home Finance facility at exclusive fixed rates for the first 5 years of the financing tenor.

Expressing his views on this partnership, Mr. Muhammad Lukman, CEO NCCPL said, “While housing is the basic right of every human being, it is rapidly becoming a commodity for most with the increasing housing costs. Coming together with Faysal Bank, we have made an effort to make this commodity a reality for our employees where they can easily obtain Faysal Bank’s home finance service at affordable rates.”

Mr. Tahir Yaqoob Bhatti, Head Retail Banking Faysal Bank, also added, “This agreement with NCCPL has brought us another step closer in our mission in making housing affordable for all. PMRC’s efforts are also commendable in supporting this alliance. We hope to assist all our clients in their financing needs by bringing innovation and more value to our services.”

Mr. Mudassir H. Khan, MD & CEO, PMRC expressing his views said “Employer arrangements for employees plays a vital role for this segment in availing Housing Finance. We are glad to be playing our role in developing the market and will continue to facilitate such arrangements. PMRC’s focus and efforts are for making Housing Finance affordable and accessible for all”.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) To further its Million Tree Plantation Program, Indus Motor Company (IMC), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Association of Pakistan (UNAP). The MoU was signed at IMC headquarters, by the Company’s CEO, Ali Asghar Jamali and President UNAP, Moohi Shaheen.

Under the partnership, UNAP will undertake to plant over 150,000 tree saplings in Karachi and surrounding areas.

Expressing his views, Mr. Ali Asghar Jamali, CEO IMC, said “Deforestation is becoming a serious concern for Pakistan. What is needed is a fast, equally serious and collective endeavour to overcome this predicament and our collaboration with UNAP for the Million Tree Plantation Program aims to do just that. As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we are committed to support the SDGs and our social responsibility initiatives are aligned accordingly, in addition to the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050.”

UNAP is dedicated to promoting the UN’s development agenda outlined in its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By signing the MoU with IMC, UNAP aims to broaden its span of activities regarding SDG 13 and 15 (climate action, life on land). At the same time, it will be promoting the concept behind SDG 17 (partnership for goals), which asks for all-inclusive and collective efforts for achievement of the SDGs.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Power Couple behind Bagallery take Center Stage with the announcement of Salman as CEO Every success story starts with a dream and while there is a woman behind every successful man, this power couple challenges the norms with the man behind the successful woman i.e. Co-founder of Bagallery Mina Salman. Bagallery being one of the leading Fashion and lifestyle e-commerce businesses of Pakistan announces.

Salman Sattar as the Chief Executive Officer from March 20, 2021. Bringing more than 15 years of industry experience to the position, he brings the maturity and focus that the company requires. He will be leading from the front to deliver sustained growth and frictionless customer service & experience. This tale begins with Mina Salman, a beauty & wellness blogger and an online shopping enthusiast recognising a gap for authentic brands in Pakistan. While there was interest in the local market the choices were limited. Thus giving birth to what is now the biggest beauty, fashion & lifestyle e-commerce player in Pakistan. Mina spent most of her life abroad, residing with Husband Salman Sattar in the UAE and travelling around the world.

She saw the e-commerce market booming and could foresee its immense potential in Pakistan. And so, together they decided to launch this e-commerce platform in May 2017. Initially the aim was to sell bags only which explains the name however, the business pivoted and on boarded a huge portfolio of beauty & fashion brands. L’Oréal and Unilever are one of the biggest partners for Bagallery with the partnership not restricted to sales & marketing but towards tech, sustainability, logistics and data science. The year 2020 was when the start-up entered hyper growth with 2 key triggers fuelling the sudden increase in demand and size of the business. COVID-19 forced consumers to shop online, which not only created a demand for online shopping, but also pushed existing e-commerce players to improve their services.

This had a similar impact on Bagallery as while the business had a massive spike in demand, it also put a strain on the company’s operations and customer service. The second trigger established Bagallery as a serious player in the e-commerce industry when the start-up raised $900,000 in a Pre-Series A round from Lakson Investments Venture Capital.

Speaking about the investment, Faisal Aftab, the Managing Partner of Lakson Venture Capital and board member of Bagallery said, “The beauty & personal care market in Pakistan is projected to be worth billions of dollars over the next 5 years. This represents a tremendous opportunity for market leaders like Bagallery, especially at a time where internet adoption in Pakistan has attained critical mass with more than 80 million active users.” Salman Sattar, hailing from Karachi had spent majority of his career in business development roles across Pakistan and Middle East.

He worked with different multinationals including Unilever, Mondelez, Savola Foods and FrieslandCampina. His most recent role was that of Sales Director Middle East at Friesland Campina managing a business of $400 Million+. FrieslandCampina is a Dutch Dairy company and one of the biggest dairy multi-national organizations of the world with Salman being part of the Future Leader Program of FrieslandCampina which is managed by Ashridge Executive Education UK.

A life-long campaigner and supporter of Bagallery, Salman had been mentoring the startup since its inception. However, since 2020, Bagallery needed constant direction and experience to fix its issues pertaining operations and customer service. Looking at the immense potential of the e-commerce beauty & fashion business in Pakistan, Salman took the leap of faith to join the company his wife co-founded.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s most Premium smartphone brand, Infinix, has announced the winners of “Infinix Jackpot” leaving all lucky winners smiling as they finally draw the curtain on a one-month-long Infinix Jackpot claiming amazing CAR, AC, Microwave, Water dispenser, iRockers & Xbands gifts. The jackpot was live from 11th December 2020 till 8th January 2021 in both retail stores and online. During this period, on purchase of any device from the Zero 8 series, Note 8 series, and Note 7 series customers participated in the lucky draw. The premium smartphone brand known for its innovative and state-of-the-art devices has always shown appreciation for the brand loyalist by bringing the opportunity to win grand prizes and Infinix phones with this jackpot event. Congratulating the lucky winners CEO, Infinix Pakistan,

Mr. Joe Hu said “Infinix is highly committed to show our love for consumers. We consolidate our service to consumers by matching initiatives like this to our provision of highly innovative products. This is why we have made it a culture to continually show them our appreciation in the best way that we can. The ‘Infinix Jackpot’ is another gesture of appreciation from us to our beloved customers in Pakistan.” Infinix has managed to achieve significant milestones this year alone by coming out as the leading smartphone brand in Pakistan. With constant evolution and adaption to the consumers’ needs, Infinix fulfills far beyond the expectations of the buyers with its trendy and power-packed devices and continues to bring exciting discounts for its consumers too.