Mobile phone users cross 137m
ISLAMABAD (APP): Mobile phone users in Pakistan have crossed 137 million by end of January after addition of 0.506 million customers by mobile phone companies during one month. The latest data released by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said since July 2016 the subscribers base has been showing raising trend. Till July last year, the number of subscribers was 133.2 million. All new addition is now being bio-metrically verified. The data said Mobilink was leading the charts with 51.534 million customers while Telenor was closing in the gap with 39.586 million subscribers. However, after merger of Mobilink and Warid, Mobilink was able to widen the lead with more post-merger customers. Zong had 27.496 million customers while Ufone stood with 18.478 million customers. Mobile tele-density increased from 69.8 percent to 70 percent and Broadband subscribers increased from 37.6 million in December 2016 to 38.27 million till January 2017.
Tourism to create jobs for degree holders
ISLAMABAD (APP): Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) Managing Director Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor has said that tourism sector is growing so fast that it is creating job opportunities for degree holders in the discipline of tourism and hospitality. Talking to APP, he said that he has great pleasure that Final Meeting of National Curriculum Revision Committee in the discipline of Tourism and Hospitality is being held. "After seeing the Curriculum of BS Degree in Tourism & Hospitality and concluded that it is very comprehensive course which will not only help students in developing and understanding the key issues of tourism but also support Pakistan's tourism industry with quality manpower of international standards," he said. The PTDC managing director said that especially the curriculum of BS Degree in Tourism & Hospitality is equally diverse, allowing students to master the professional skills needed for success in the field of Tourism & Hospitality, as well as gaining specialised knowledge and relevant practical experience through internship.
Jazz active customers cross 2m mark
LAHORE (Staff Reporter): JazzCash has announced that its monthly active mobile account customers have crossed the 2 million mark. The mobile financial service provider has been able to add another million active mobile accounts in just six months. Aniqa Afzal Sandhu, chief digital and financial services officer; Aamir Ibrahim, CEO and Jon Eddy Abdullah, head of emerging markets at Veon, made the announcement during a ceremony at Jazz Digital Headquarters in Islamabad. “As Pakistan’s No. 1 digital company, our customers’ financial service needs are our top priority and we work hard to provide them with the best possible quality. Adding another million monthly active mobile account customers in just six months is a testament to this commitment,” said Aniqa Afzal Sandhu. JazzCash Mobile Accounts are rapidly gaining popularity in providing digital financial services to Pakistanis. The product primarily serves the unbanked population, who are now accessing their Mobile Accounts through their mobile phones to deposit and withdraw funds at more than 70,000 JazzCash Agents across Pakistan.
The service fulfills all basic financial services needs of customers, including deposits, money transfer, bill payments, mobile top-ups, savings, insurance, ATM cards and payments for a variety of services.
PBIF warns heavy losses on account of food trade
ISLAMABAD (INP): Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) President Mian Zahid Hussain has said food trade gap is widening which will surpass $2 billion by the end of this fiscal year. Pakistan recorded a surplus of $570 million in 2013 and surplus of $380 million in 2014 but situation changed in 2015 when a deficit of $470 million was recorded which jumped to 1.39 billion in 2016, he said. Mian Zahid said that increasing food trade deficit can be contributed to economic growth, better buying power, increasing population, reduced performance by food sector, better profit in imports as compare to exports etc. He said that country is importing raw, semi-finished and finished foods goods in large quantities while India and China have emerged as favourite destinations for import of fruit and vegetables. He said that the number of Chinese nationals would continue to surge because of the economic corridor which will also boost import of food items from China.