Eighteen Islamabad to set new standards for real estate

ISLAMABAD (PR): The world-class lifestyle destination development, Eighteen Islamabad, was announced Friday. The $2 billion real estate project is a partnership between Ora Developers and Saif Group, in conjunction with Kohistan Builders & Developers. At an event held in Islamabad, the management team introduced the partners, unveiled the branding and confirmed the date of the commercial launch as the 18th January 2018.

Eighteen is a 2.77 million sq yard (2.2 million sq m) gated community being developed in the 18th District, to the south-west of downtown Islamabad. It offers the highest quality of design and construction, which will set new standards for Pakistani real estate.

At the announcement, Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Ora Developers, commented: “Today we have shown a wonderful masterplan for a development which I believe will revolutionise real estate projects in Pakistan. Ora, working with these highly respected partners, will be creating a new lifestyle destination in a world class capital City. I am very pleased to be involved with the project and very excited by what we will achieve.”

Eighteen Islamabad has been designed around a championship golf course and will consist of 1100 villas and 900 apartments as well as an iconic Golf Clubhouse, a shopping Mall, 5-Star boutique hotel, medical facilities and a business district.

The master plan was conceptualised by Calisson RTKL and developed by renowned architects and urban planners WATG. The unique and challenging golf course has been designed by IDG in the UK. The project is being led by CEO, Tarek Hamdy, who explained why the scheme is so unique: “All the villas and apartments have been carefully located with views over the golf course and are linked by wide parkways and open streets.  The feeling is of space and privacy which will give a select group ofpeople the homesthey have always dreamt of.  The amenities are second to none, delivered in a safe, secure and exclusive location.”

 Bank Alfalah enables POS purchasing for senior citizens

ISLAMABAD (PR): Bank Alfalah in collaboration with Employees Old Age Benefits Institute (EOBI) initiated the digital model for EOBI pension disbursements in May 2016. This innovative system has provided more than 380,000 pensioners with a convenient and hassle-free process of collecting pensions through Union Pay International powered debit cards. In contrast to the previous mode of collection, the aged pensioners no longer have to visit branches, wait in long queues and brave harsh weather conditions every month.

In August 2017, Bank Alfalah marked another feat by enabling the Alif EOBI Cards for conducting free-of-cost transactions on POS terminals.  POS terminals have become an important part of the Pakistani retail industry and provide customers with a simple, fast and safe way of transacting. The country currently has a network of 40,000+ POS machines. Thus, this enablement has not only increased customer convenience but has also allowed them to indulge in the diversity of payment systems.

With digital wallets in place and the enablement of Alif EOBI Cards on POS terminals, pensioners will now be able to maintain their pension in their account, rather than withdrawing the entire amount in one go. It will facilitate a prudent use of the pension amount. Pensioners will also receive regular SMS upon withdrawal from their wallets which will help keep track of their balance. Cashless transactions also save customers from theft.

Before the enablement of POS machines on Alfalah EOBI debit cards, customers could not use the PKR 250 trapped in their wallets due to ATMs not allowing withdrawals of less than PKR 500. Now, the customers can use the extra PKR 250 in their wallets by conducting transactions at POS terminals. Without having to visit an ATM or carry cash around, pensioners can conveniently conduct various useful transactions just by swiping their cards at POS terminals, completely free of cost.

Till date, the largest percentage, about 33%, of retail transactions by pensioners through POS have been conducted at grocery stores and dining areas.

Additionally, a considerable amount of transactions conducted by pensioners are below PKR 250, often charged at fuel stations. Alfalah EOBI Debit Cards have also been used at other locations, ranging from hospitals to bakeries.

 Byco Petroleum’s profit spikes by 50pc

LAHORE (PR): Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BPPL) declared profit after tax of Rs.2.1 billion for the year ended June 2017, a 50 percent increase over the same period last year. Byco’s operating profit also registered growth of 14% in FY17 over FY16. Byco has shown stable earnings growth over the last several years. For the last 3 consecutive years, the company posted operating profit of Rs 3 billion or more.

Earlier in the year, BPPL received approval from the High Court to merge with its wholly owned subsidiary and its parent company to integrate various parts of its petroleum supply chain. BPPL’s FY17 earnings per share (EPS) of Re. 0.26 per share in consolidated accounts compared to its FY16 EPS of Re 0.40 per share is a major achievement given that following the merger the number of shares have increased by 542% to 5.3 billion shares as against 977 million shares last year. This shows the positive trajectory of the company’s results. 384 to receive degrees on BNU’s 12th convocation

LAHORE (PR): The twelfth convocation of Beaconhouse National University (BNU) will be held on Saturday (today) at Tarogil Campus, 13km Raiwind Road, Lahore. 

Vice Chancellor, Shahid Hafiz Kardar will confer the degrees upon graduates of the class of 2017. Also present will be chairperson, Board of Governors, Mrs Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Kasim Mahmud Kasuri, Dr Parvez Hassan, Mueen Afzal and other members of the Board, Deans of BNU Schools including Prof Dr Gulzar Haider, Prof Dr Tariq Rahman, Prof Rashid Rana, Prof Dr Khaver Zia, Prof Dr Ruhi Khalid and Prof Dr Taimur-ul-Hassan together with distinguished faculty members, dignitaries, guests and parents of the graduating students. A total of 384 graduates will be awarded degrees on the occasion.