ABL, Bank of China-Pakistan ink MoU
LAHORE: Allied Bank Limited (ABL) and Bank of China-Pakistan (BOCP) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Beijing. The MoU was signed by ABL’s CEO, Tahir Hassan Qureshi and Country Head & CEO of BOCP Liu Xiaofei, in a ceremony held at Bank of China Headquarters in Beijing. The ceremony was also attended by Owais Shahid (Chief, Corporate & Investment Banking- ABL) and BOC’s Executive Vice President, Sun Yu; and other senior officials from both banks.
The MoU sets out a conceptual framework for cooperation through which both institutions can develop business synergies, and it formalizes a strategic partnership that aims to promote trade and investments relating to China’s One Belt One Road Initiative. ABL’s CEO, Tahir Hassan Qureshi congratulated the management of BOC and extended ABL’s cooperation on various fronts. Under this MoU, both banks have agreed to collaborate with each other on RMB Business, trade finance, treasury and corporate banking transactions. The agreement also encourages joint syndication and project financing of various projects in Pakistan.
Pakistan bound online remittances set to surge
LONDON/ISLAMABAD : Data from leading online money transfer service WorldRemit shows that the week before Eid-al-fitr was the company’s busiest period for transfers to Pakistan in 2018.
The State Bank of Pakistan recently revealed that overseas Pakistanis sent home nearly $17.9 billion in remittances during the first 10 months of FY19 (July to April), a growth of nearly 8.5% compared to the same time last year. Remittance inflows are likely to further increase over the coming weeks as millions of Overseas Pakistanis send money home to contribute to their family’s Eid-al-Fitr celebrations.
In 2018, WorldRemit saw the highest volume of transfers to Pakistan during the week commencing 4th June (the week before Eid-al-fitr). The number of transfers made during this period was 44% higher than the average week that year, highlighting that Ramazan is an important time for the Pakistani diaspora to send money home to support their loved ones and communities.
Hamza Islam, Country Director for Pakistan at WorldRemit, said: “Ramadan is one of our busiest period for transfers to Pakistan, and we are committed to helping our customers get their money quickly and safely to those that matter most.”
“We offer a variety of convenient ways for money transfer recipients with or without a bank account to receive money, including bank transfer, cash pickup, airtime top-up and mobile money. We also offer our senders and recipients notifications via SMS or Whatsapp when their transfers have been sent and delivered so they can track their money’s journey at every step.”
To help make the money its customers send home to go further, for every transfer made to Pakistan during Ramadan 2019, WorldRemit will donate a sum of money equivalent to an iftar meal to a person in need through the Edhi Foundation.
Online remittances save customers time and money as they do not need to travel to an agent and pay expensive fees to send money home. Using the WorldRemit app, Pakistanis living in over 50 countries, including the UK, USA and Australia, can send money home at any time from anywhere in just a few taps.
To support Pakistanis living abroad and their loved ones, WorldRemit recently introduced zero fees on transfers of $210 or equivalent** to Pakistan. The fee waiver was introduced as the company joined the Pakistan Remittance Initiative, a joint program by the Pakistan State Bank, Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Ministry of Finance to encourage Pakistanis living overseas to use formal money transfer methods to send money home.
Telenor Velocity together with Google brings its first gaming cohort
ISLAMABAD : Telenor Pakistan’s digital startup accelerator programme, Telenor Velocity signed a contract with Google to launch its first ever gaming cohort aimed at accelerating the game developers. Game Launcher is a programme for top indie game studios which are looking to build, scale & monetize best-in-class mobile games.
Like most developing technology areas, game development requireslearning and mentoring. To bridge the gap, Telenor Pakistan has joined hands with Googleto bringin the world’s top gaming gurus to speak and mentor at game development workshops.
Most of these training sessions will be held at Telenor Pakistan Campus 345 which serves as an innovation hub and has been recognized for its enabling and inclusive working environment.
There will be 4 workshops hosted by Telenor Velocity’s Game Launcher in which gurus from Google and global gaming industry will educate Velocity’s gaming cohort on how to develop games and monetize them.Telenor Velocity and Google are targeting Pakistan’s aspiring and upcoming game developers to uplift their skills and bring the next multi-million dollar games from Pakistan.
“We, at Telenor Pakistan,have been at the forefront of bringing technological interventions and innovative solutions for various segments of the society. This collaboration with Google to enable the game developers and enthusiasts in the country is a testament to our commitment to provide best in class solutions and platforms to our people” said Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan and Head of Emerging Asia Cluster. “Together, we aim to revolutionize gaming as a career and eventually place Pakistan on the international game developers map.”
Telenor Velocity’s Game Launcher program has opened for applications through online registration after which25 teams will be shortlisted. There will be three rounds over a period of 8 months and in every round a few teams will be eliminated with the rest proceeding to the next level. At the end of the program, top 7 teams will travel to Singapore Google HQ to pitch their games to potential investors.
“We’re glad to be pitching in with Telenor Pakistan to help grow the overall digital ecosystem in the country and look forward to unearthing hidden gems together from Pakistan’s game developers’ community” said Farhan Qureshi, Country Manager South Asian Frontier Markets at Google.
Simply Sufi hosts exclusive movie screening
LAHORE : April 2019 brought the release of the international blockbuster movie Avengers: Endgame – a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers and the 22nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Celebrating their brand’s success and providing an opportunity to movie-goers to view the most sought after movie of the year; Simply Sufi hosted an exclusive movie screening on 28th April 2019 with an event organized by Elysium.
The red-carpet was hosted by Sarah Gandapur and attended by various celebrities, movie-goers & Marvel fans, socialites, media personalities, directors SUFI Group, friends and families.
While sharing positive views on supporting quality events, Hamza Tariq, Director Simply Sufi, shared about the brand: “Simply Sufi is the newest feather in the cap of Sufi Group of Companies. Established in 1952, Sufi Group of Companies takes great pride in being a household name throughout Pakistan. After the resounding success of Simply Sufi ready-to-cook chicken products, step into the world of Simply Sufi XPRS, the group’s latest achievement, bringing innovative, premium quality fast food to Pakistan!”
The excitement level amongst the guests and fans remained an all-time high as the show went fully packed with smiles all around.