Technology Charger

Monday, 12 December 2022

Alibaba.com Reaffirms Commitment to Serving Export Businesses in Lahore with Second Local Seller Summit

Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) trade, hosted its second seller summit in Lahore to highlight export opportunities available to local businesses from online commerce, reaffirming its commitment to helping exporters in the region enter the global market. The event this time was well attended by more than 250 participants including over 100 participants who tuned in online.

The Alibaba.com seller summit, titled “Bharo Digital Export ki Nayi Udaan Lahore se”, discussed various aspects of B2B e-commerce including the promising categories of products from Lahore in the global market and how Pakistani exporters can tap the opportunity. Alibaba.com representatives also provided the participants with tips and advice on equipping themselves with the necessary skills and tools to thrive as sellers on Alibaba.com.

The event featured a line-up of leaders from Alibaba.com as well as prominent industry leaders from Lahore’s business circle, including Mr. Song Song, Head of Alibaba.com Pakistan; Mr. Maaz Mehmood, Executive member of Sundar Trade and Industry Association; Mr. Ahmed Jahangir, Executive Director of Home Textile Business at Nishat Mills; Ms. Amy Li, Marketing Head at Alibaba.com Pakistan; and Mr. Aziz Ur Rehman, Founder of Adan Enterprises.

“I am greatly encouraged to see the enthusiasm of the business community in Lahore for transitioning to the digital age by grasping opportunities in B2B e-commerce, which is why we are here again to meet with local business leaders and entrepreneurs. We look forward to working with more SMEs here to help drive export opportunities for Lahore, and contribute to the growth of Pakistan’s national economy,” said Mr. Song Song.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Maaz Mehmood said: “We are thankful to Alibaba.com for organising this event. Lahore has huge potential for e-commerce but we are still following traditional ways of doing business. We need to encourage buyers and sellers of this age to become part of global e-commerce through platforms such as Alibaba.com.”

Commenting on the potential of Pakistani exports, Ms. Amy Li said: “Apparel and textile export from Pakistan is on the rise with a year-on-year growth of 4.18% in export volume during July-August 2022, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In particular, the knitwear category witnessed a year-on-year growth of 16.95% in export volume while non-knitted garment a year-on-year growth of 8.49% during the same period. We expect Pakistani export will reach a new level as an increasing number of sellers go online and go global with e-commerce.”

Sharing his thoughts at the event, Mr. Ahmed Jahangir said: “Platforms like Alibaba.com are creating level playing fields and helping businesses to reach genuine global buyers with minimal investment. This helps exporters save time from looking for buyers and allows them to spend more energy on making good-quality products for buyers.”

Thursday, 8 December 2022

Haniya Minhas brings bronze for Pakistan from Eddie Herr International Championship

Pakistan’s 12-year-old tennis prodigy – Haniya Minhas has won bronze in the international tennis tournament, held in US. Haniya’s training and sports activities have been supported by the ‘Bilquis & Abdul Razak Dawood' (BARD) Foundation, since she was only 9 years of age.

Haniya progressed through this prestigious tournament, by winning the 1st round. Her outstanding performance in the Quarter-Final match was 6-0, 6-4. Then she put up with an impressive competition against her opponent and ended up winning bronze at Eddie Herr International Junior Championship. Over 2000 players participated at Eddie Herr Junior Championship where Haniya Minhas secured remarkable place for Pakistan among 90 countries. Haniya joined IMG for training that was followed by a continuous series of remarkable successes at Little Mo International Championship in New York, USA, USTA National under 14 Tennis Championship in Florida, L5 Under 16 National Tennis Championship in the United States, Under 14 National Tennis Championships in Coral Springs, Florida and USTA Under 16 Girls National Championship Final in Florida, USA.

Expressing her delight on being the best player in two prestigious tournaments in the USA, Haniya stated that: “My current tour of the USA has been an exhilarating experience, as I have been able to train more professionally and out-perform all my worthy competitors, in my first tournament. My special gratitude goes to my country Pakistan that I represent from whole of my heart and BARD Foundation as they have supported my sporting endeavors for so many years.”

Mehreen Dawood – Pakistan’s leading philanthropist and founder of the BARD Foundation, paid a tribute to Haniya’s success, saying that: “Haniya is another international athlete emerging from Pakistan. I congratulate her for making such great achievement at a very young age. BARD Foundation remains committed to nurture Pakistani talents by enabling the youngsters who demonstrate exceptional passion to excel and create a soft image of Pakistan, globally. We hope that one day, this emerging star will make her way through her passionate goals and dreams.

The long-term vision and mission of the BARD Foundation is to support the development of talented, young Pakistanis, in any profession, sport, or other fields of endeavor. It sponsors the best performing youngsters, to fulfill their dreams and prove their mettle.

Implementing green budgeting in the public sector is essential to tackling climate change

Toolkit sets out key methods that financial professionals can use to turn green ambitions into costed plans

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) backs green budgeting for the public sector everywhere to implement climate commitments and achieve their environmental goals.

In Green budgeting: a toolkit for public sector finance professionals published today, ACCA sets out the reasons for considering green budgeting and the methods that can be adopted. It highlights the crucial role that finance professionals must play in making action on climate change a reality.

John Lelliott, OBE, FCCA, chair of ACCA’s Global Forum for Sustainability and former finance director at the UK Crown Estate, wrote a foreword to the toolkit. He says: ‘Action to address the climate crisis requires change across the entire public sector. Climate considerations must be central to public sector organisations’ decision-making processes. The budget cycle is at the heart of the way organisations implement their objectives.’

Green budgeting supports progress towards national and international climate commitments and goals; promotes environmentally responsive policy making; fosters transparency and helps investors as they look to fund sustainable activities through financial instruments such as green bonds.

The toolkit identifies three important conditions to support successful implementation: political will; building on existing processes; and adopting green budgeting across the whole public sector – half of all public spending on climate and the environment is at sub-national level.

The report also sets out five key steps to adopting green budgeting: develop a baseline; prioritise spending with the most impact; categorise and monitor spending; ensure external review and then learn and improve.

The toolkit highlights how finance professionals are at the heart of green budgeting and can enable public sector organisations to turn goals and ambitions into costed plans.

Assad Hameed Khan, head of ACCA Pakistan, says: ‘Climate change, as experienced through the recent floods, is already having a profound impact on Pakistan. Government is at the forefront of the response to climate change including the need to integrate and mainstream climate action in every public sector organisation. Accountancy and finance professionals in the public sector will be essential to this task. It’s a great opportunity for public sector accountants to step forward and make a real difference’.

Wednesday, 7 December 2022

Google announces top trending searches of Pakistan for the Year 2022

Google has released its annual Year in Search, recapping the top trends of 2022 in Pakistan. The searches revealed that over the year, Pakistanis had a diverse range of interests that pivot on politics, famous personalities, government initiatives, current events, entertainment, technology, and food.

This year, cricket continued to be the major search trend, with the T20 World Cup, Asia Cup 2022, and PSL 7 filling the top three spots in the overall list of top searches. Nationwide financial insecurity, floods, and inflation led people to search for government campaigns and financial aid schemes like the Ehsaas Program. Meanwhile, celebrities like Queen Elizabeth, Aamir Liaquat, and Arshad Shareef also took their spots on the list. Here is the complete list of all the top trending searches;

realme Offers a Last Chance to Grab Your Favourite realme Products on its 12.12 Sale

realme, the world's fastest-growing smartphone brand, has given over a 100 million consumers across the globe an experience that exceeded their expectations. As 2022 draws to a close, the brand is bringing yet another sale to let its fans get their hands on their favourite realme goodies.

realme has always been at the forefront to bring something exciting for its fan base. This holiday season during the 12.12 sale, fans can buy realme gifts for their loved ones with exclusive discounts on their favourite products.

In the smartphone category,

·         realme 9 Pro+ (8GB + 128GB) shall cost PKR 77,399/- down from 79,999/-
·         realme 9 4G (8GB + 128GB) will carry a price tag of PKR 64,799/- down from PKR 66,999/-
·         With a glowing design, realme C35 (4GB + 128GB) will cost PKR 45,499/- down from PKR 46,999/-
·         The realme C25Y (4GB + 64GB) can be purchased for PKR 33,899/- down from 34,999/-
·         Grab a realme C11 (4GB + 64GB) at an amazing price tag of PKR 29,999/- down from PKR 30,999/-

Over at the AIoT front, realme has great deals on:

· realme Watch S that comes for an exciting price of PKR 14,999/- all the way down from PKR 19,999/-
· realme Dart Charge Power Bank for PKR 5,589/- down from PKR 6,999/-

Moreover, discounts of upto 50% will be offered on smartphones and smart AIoT items during the year-end sale. realme has announced amazing offers on the realme Power Bank 2i, realme 10000mAh Power Bank 2, realme 30W Dart Charge Power Bank, realme Buds Q2, realme Band 2, realme Buds Air Neo, realme Buds Q, realme Buds Wireless Pro, realme Motion Activated Night Light and realme Smart Scale.

So, don’t miss this last chance and fill in your carts with all your favourite realme products, and become a favourite in your family by giving these awesome gifts to your loved ones!

Monday, 5 December 2022

CBD Punjab Achieves Target Of 50+ Beam Piles Per Day

Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA), also known as Central Business District (CBD Punjab), is working on full throttle at CBD Punjab Boulevard and Kalma Chowk Underpass Remodelling Project. Authority has completed 560+ piles up to date.

Executive Director Technical PCBDDA, Mr. Riaz Hussain has said that “we are working at a pace of almost 50 piles per day our team is committed to the timely completion of the project. We have also expedited the construction work of the parking plaza concrete pouring of retention walls are completed and by the end of December we will reach the ground surface level.”. He has also requested the general public to plan their commute according to the traffic advisory issued by the authority & CTO Office while traveling in the vicinity of Kalma Chowk to avoid any inconvenience. City Traffic Police (CTP) Lahore and PCBDDA are simultaneously working to ensure hassle-free traffic flow.

City Traffic Officer, Lahore Dr. Asad Malhi has visited the site multiple times to ensure hassle-free traffic flow. During his recent visit, he said “This project will eradicate many problems related to traffic flow. I completely understand there are temporary problems due to construction and we are in continuous discussions with PCBDDA, for their solution. CTP has deployed an excessive number of traffic wardens at Kalma Chowk”.

PCBDDA and CTP Lahore, have also issued an updated traffic advisory according to that the opposite road of Ali Zaib Road will be closed for 15-20 days for traffic coming from Firdaus Market to Center point. Authority and CTP Lahore have highlighted three alternative routes. Traffic coming from Barkat Market and going to Liberty Market will take a left turn from Kalma Chowk or will use the U-turn of Muslim Town Morr, to reach Liberty Market through Gaddafi Stadium. Similarly, traffic coming from Model Town for Liberty Market will also go straight to Muslim Town Morr, take a U-Turn and reach Liberty market through Gaddafi stadium, commuters coming from Firdaus Market going towards Liberty Market or Main Boulevard, Gulberg, can go via Hussain Chowk.

Saturday, 3 December 2022

Alibaba.com to Discuss Potential E-commerce Opportunities with Lahore-based Businesses at Hybrid Event

Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) trade announced that it will hold an export seller summit in Lahore on 8December 2022 at Nishat Hotel. The event will emphasize on the opportunities for exporters, manufacturers, wholesalers, traders and retailers in Lahore to reach the global online B2B buyer base.

The hybrid event, which will be live streamed concurrently online will gather existing and aspiring exporters and provide tips and advice on practical ways to start an online export business using the Alibaba.com platform. Additionally, it will answer frequently asked questions by small and medium-sized enterprises about how to overcome obstacles and expand their businesses in the global B2B e-commerce industry.

The Alibaba.com seller is being organized to highlight the emerging ecommerce narrative “Bharo Digital Export ki Nayi Udaan Lahore se”. It will shed light on diverse topics including the potential of B2B e-commerce, how to start exporting using Alibaba.com, trends in selected categories such as apparel, leather and textiles and the Alibaba.com ecosystem. Real-Life Alibaba.com seller success stories will also be shared.

The event will feature a line-up of experts in the export and e-commerce fields, including Mr. Song Song, Head of Alibaba.com Pakistan; Mr. Maaz Mehmood, Executive member of Sundar Trade and Industry Association; Mr. Ahmed Jahangir, Executive Director of Home Textile Business at Nishat Mills; Ms. Amy Li, Marketing Head at Alibaba.com Pakistan; and Mr. Aziz Ur Rehman, Founder of Adan Enterprises.

Alibaba.com will also discuss about the previous success stories of sellers working through their platform in Pakistan and how it is acting as an e-commerce pillar to this industry. Alibaba.com is now more focused to increase the e-commerce industry in Pakistan, especially in Lahore to make B2B trade as easy and as accessible as possible for buyers and sellers.

The Alibaba.com event is now open for registration. Interested parties please sign up here

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1116690414629/WN__q4UUsezRg2os7FyZTwNSA.