Pak students clean sweep int’l convention in Oman

LAHORE (PR): Pakistani students beat other participants from Malaysia, Oman, the Philippines and Thailand in a brilliant show of talent and sporting prowess at the Beaconhouse International Student Convention 2018 (BISC 2018). The event was held at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman. The second and final day of BISC 2018 continued with the same passion and vigour that was exhibited when it began with the spirit of competitiveness and sportsman spirit reigning supreme.

Over 200 Beaconhouse students from 5 countries gave their best in a host of activities & competitions from various spheres of learning ranging from sports and athletics to science, technology, the visual & performing arts and filmmaking. BISC 2018 provided Beaconhouse students the chance to be on the global stage to promote the cause of learning.

Students from Pakistan gave a brilliant performance by cinching most of the competitions to come out on top over all.

MCB Bank, SBP organise conference

KARACHI (PR): MCB Bank, one of Pakistan’s largest & most innovative banks, Wednesday organised a conference in collaboration with State Bank of Pakistan titled “Avenues and opportunities of International Trade and its settlement in CNY”. The conference was held at SBP premises in Karachi to update key stakeholders and MCB Bank customers on CNY (Chinese Yuan) trading and the support provided by SBP to facilitate CNY transactions in Pakistan.

The conference was initiated with a brief introduction to the topic by Amer Nazir Khan, Business Head Treasury Sales MCB, and was followed by a presentation from keynote speaker Muhammad Ali Malik, executive director Financial Markets and Reserve Management SBP.

Malik underscored the strategic importance of trade between China and Pakistan and how the central banks of both countries were promoting the use of Chinese currency to settle trade transactions between the two countries. Answering questions raised by attendees, SBP and MCB representatives explained that customers should explore CNY denominated trade to determine the pricing advantage/disadvantage in either currency and that it was quite likely that importers/exporters in China could give better pricing in CNY, as it was their home currency.

SBP also mentioned that it would provide support to banks in terms of providing liquidity and competitive pricing if required for products such as FCY loans, discounting of export bills and forward booking in CNY. It was also elaborated that for LCs denominated in CNY, clients could book import forward in CNY/PKR as laid out in the SBP Foreign Exchange Manual. Event attendees appreciated the efforts of MCB Bank and State Bank of Pakistan for organising the event.

EFU General creates history

KARACHI (PR): In the year 2017, EFU General Insurance created history by becoming the first company to write premium (including Takaful contribution) of over Rs. 20 billion.  The board of directors of the company recently approved the annual accounts for the year ended December 31, 2017. The after tax profit of the company was Rs 2,344 million as against Rs 2,392 million last year. The earning per share for the year was Rs 11.72 as against Rs 11.96 in 2016.  The underwriting result for the year was Rs 1.6 billion as compared to Rs 1.79 billion last year with claim ratio of 39% and combined ratio of 80% for the year. The board of directors declared the final cash dividend @ of Rs 6.25 per share i.e 62.50 % in addition to already paid three interim cash dividends of Rs 1.25 per share i.e. 12.50% each, making total distribution for the year to 100% (i.e Rs 10.00 per share).

Cancer survivors from SKMCH&RC in Dubai

LAHORE (PR): Peshawar Zalmi, like the last year, once again took 13 cancer survivors from Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) Lahore to attend PSL-3 in Dubai. Accompanied by two officials from SKMCH&RC, the cancer patients will attend the opening ceremony of PSL, meet the PSL teams, spend quality time with Peshawar Zalmi and have tour of Dubai during their stay. According to Javed Afridi, chairman Peshawar Zalmi franchise, “The whole Peshawar Zalmi team is excited at having their young fans along.

They hope to win the series with the encouragement and support of these little angels being in their favor”.

FPCCI appoints chairman of Takaful Committee

KARACHI (PR): The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Company Secretary of Pak-Qatar Takaful Group (PQTG), Muhammad Kamran Saleem as chairman of (Central) Standing Committee on Takaful & Window Takaful. The appointment for this designation was conferred to Muhammad Kamran Saleem through a special letter by the President of FPCCI, thus adding another milestone in the company’s rapid progress. PQTG is a leading enterprise offering Takaful products (family and general) across Pakistan.

LUMS SOE joins hands with PGC

LAHORE (PR): Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) has joined hands with Punjab Group of Colleges through a memorandum of understanding to facilitate research and outreach efforts working towards the common goal of building a robust education ecosystem in Pakistan.

The event started with a welcome note by Prof Dr S Sohail H Naqvi, Vice Chancellor LUMS, and introduction of the LUMS School of Education by its Associate Dean, Dr Mariam Chughtai. Naqvi stated, “The collaboration between the Punjab Group of Colleges and LUMS SOE will serve an important role in reforming the education sector in Pakistan.”

Executive Director of Punjab Group of Colleges, Prof Sohail Afzal also emphasized on the significance of the MoU. “There is a need for continuous professional development of teaching faculty; our teachers need to be trained to develop the knowledge and skills to address students’ learning challenges,” he said.

Associate Dean of LUMS SOE, Dr Mariam Chughtai stated, “Education is the driver of economic growth and the fastest growing sector in Pakistan. We must look at this as an opportunity between the two institutions to impact policy reform”.