Caretaker Provincial Minister Punjab Visits Kalma Chowk Remodeling Project Site.

                                         

As per the directions of Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab, Mr. Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Caretaker Provincial Minister for Excise, Taxation, Communication and Works Punjab, Mr. Bilal Afzal, visited the site of Kalma Chowk Underpass remodeling which is the project of Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA), also known as Central Business District (CBD Punjab).

Commissioner Lahore Division, Mr. Muhammad Ali Randhawa, CEO PCBDDA, Mr. Imran Amin, Assistant Commissioner Model Town, Ibrahim Arbab, Managing Director WASA, CEO LWMC, CE LESCO, Director Engineering SNGPL Lahore, Director PHA, Lahore, Director Rescue 1122, DSP Traffic Police, Gulberg Circle and Directorate Heads of CBD Punjab were present during the visit. 

Executive Director Technical PCBDDA, Mr. Riaz Hussain, briefed the Provincial Minister about the development progress of the project. CBD Punjab has completed the 100% pile work and will complete the slabbing of the barrels in the estimated time, as per the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab, heavy machinery is mobilized to pace up the development progress. 

The Provincial Minister also chaired the meeting to review the progress of the project, which was co-chaired by Commissioner Lahore, while addressing the meeting Bilal Afzal said, “To provide maximum relief to the public is our utmost priority and CM Punjab has a clear vision on this. I have directed all the concerned departments to work together for the timely completion of this project. I can foresee that this project will change the development landscape of Lahore”. He further added that CM Punjab has specially instructed him to oversee this project as per his directions he will review the development of the project after every three days. 

Commissioner Lahore Division, Mr. Muhammad Ali Randhawa while sharing his thoughts said, “Chief Minister Punjab is very keen on the timely completion of this project to minimize the hindrance in the daily commute of citizens of Lahore. The development pace is satisfactory, and I have high hopes that as per the guidelines of CM Punjab, this project will be completed in the stipulated time”.

The Government authorities, management of PCBDDA and official contractor of the project as per the directive of the Chief Minister Punjab, have decided to open all the roads by mid of February 2023, and the whole project will be completed by the end of March 2023.

Another Pakistani student achieves highest mark in ACCA exam

                                                                        

Pass rates have been announced by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) for students who sat their exams in December 2022.

 

107,142 students from around the world entered for the December sitting of ACCA exams, which saw 128,693 exams completed. Huzaifa Jamil from Lahore, Pakistan, emerged as a global award recipient for earning the highest score worldwide in ACCA's Financial Reporting (FM) paper. 107,142 entered for the December sitting, which saw 128,693 exams completed.

 

ACCA’s campaign manager for Asia Pacific, Rashid Khan, said:

 

‘Huzaifa's drive and ambition serve as a source of inspiration for the talented youth in our country. His success serves as a reminder that Pakistanis have the potential to excel on a global stage if they are given the right opportunities and platform. Despite the numerous challenges facing the country, the key to a successful future is to support and celebrate the achievements of young individuals like Huzaifa, and to encourage them to pursue their passions and dreams, unencumbered by obstacles.’

 

Huzaifa credits his success to hard work and perseverance and is thankful for the support from his parents and teachers at SKANS School of Accountancy.

 

Huzaifa is privileged to have also memorised the Holy Quran and is eager to embark on a fulfilling auditing career. He looks forward to all the exciting global opportunities and rewards that come with being a globally in-demand ACCA-qualified professional.

 

Huzaifa has set a high bar for himself with his consistent exam performances and is determined to maintain this level of excellence. He is focused on replicating his success in his remaining exams and is dedicated to building a successful career, earning recognition for his family and country.

 

The ACCA qualification is highly regarded and widely recognised around the world, offering exciting career opportunities with leading employers. The ACCA Qualification rigorously tests the skills, abilities and competencies that a modern accountant needs, with a firm grounding in ethics and professionalism.

 

ACCA is world’s leading body for professional accountants with 241,000 members and 542,000 future members based in 178 countries and regions.

Latest economic conditions survey from ACCA and IMA paints a picture of a steady but weak global economy

                                                        

The Q4 Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS) shows signs of steadying, however, many indicators remain weaker than a year ago. The good news is that the GECS Confidence Index bounced slightly for the second consecutive quarter, perhaps reflecting hopes that the worst of the central bank tightening might soon be over and that China might successfully relax its zero-COVID restrictions. 

Even so, the Confidence Index remains below its median reading for the period since 2012. There is not much positive news from the other three economic indicators – new orders, capital expenditure (CapEx), and employment. CapEx picked up marginally but remains below the median of the same period; new orders and employment showed a further modest deterioration. 

Taken as a whole, the results are consistent with a subdued macro-economic outlook. But the good news is that they do not appear yet to be at levels consistent with an outright global recession in 2023 – even though this is the base case scenario for many economic forecasters. 

A good cross-check is provided by the two GECS “Fear” indices, which reflect respondents’ concerns that customers and/or suppliers may go out of business. Reassuringly, these were little changed from the 2022 Q3 survey, despite the sharp rise in borrowing costs and the prospect of negative corporate-earnings growth in 2023. 

Assad Hameed Khan, head of ACCA Pakistan, said: “What stands out is the improvement in confidence in developed countries - both Western Europe and North America. The improvement in confidence probably reflects hopes that the Russia–Ukraine situation can be contained, and that there will be sufficient natural gas to see Europe through what now looks increasingly likely to be a mild winter. Looking to the weaker emerging markets (especially Pakistan) however, 2023 could still prove to be a challenging time as reflected in the growing sovereign credit concerns and request to International Monetary Fund (IMF) for assistance. Moreover, the central bank remains under pressure for continued higher interest rates, monetary tightening and foreign exchange transaction restrictions (further slowing growth).”

Loreal Jiles, vice president of research and thought leadership at IMA, said: “Global confidence has edged up for the second consecutive quarter as cost concerns have eased and with worries about accessing finance and securing prompt payment having not gotten any worse.

“This is something of a surprise given the global rapid tightening of monetary policy by the world’s central banks. The past 12 months have seen the most aggressive tightening of policy in more than 40 years, in pace, scale and breadth. It is strange that this has not yet had a material impact on financing conditions and corporate cash flows. But monetary policy works with long and variable lags, which suggests that this may become more of a problem later in 2023.”

The global economy faces three major uncertainties. 

First, have central banks overdone or underdone the amount of tightening that they have imposed? 

Second, can China engineer a smooth exit from zero-COVID without additional lockdowns? 

And third, will wage pressures ease without a major weakening of the employment market?

One of the unresolved questions from the COVID crisis is whether the combination of early retirement, prolonged ill health, and the move to hybrid working has profoundly altered the balance of power between employers and employees. These changed employment-market dynamics may make it harder for central banks to bring core inflation back to their 2% targets.

The answer to each of these questions will become much clearer as 2023 progresses.

Read the full GECS report

Construction Work At CBD Punjab Boulevard Project A Step Ahead

           

Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA), also known as Central Business District (CBD Punjab), is working 24 hours in freezing weather and rain for the timely completion of its ongoing project of CBD Punjab Boulevard and Kalma Chowk Underpass remodeling. Even the recent rain, fog and harsh weather conditions have not affected the pace of construction work.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab, Mr. Mohsin Naqvi and Commissioner Lahore Mr. Amir Jan, Deputy Commissioner Lahore, Mr. Muhammad Ali visited the project site of Kalma Chowk Underpass Remodeling Project. Assistant Commissioner Model Town Mr.Ibrahim Arbab, CTO Lahore Dr. Asad Malhi, SP Traffic Model Town, DSP Traffic Model Town, DG PHA, Executive Director CBD Punjab Mr. Riaz Hussain and staff of CBD Punjab were also present during the visit. Riaz Hussain, Executive Director Technical of CBD Punjab briefed Deputy Commissioner Lahore, about the progress of construction work. The full workforce has been deployed on the clear instructions of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr. Mohsin Naqvi and CEO of CBD Punjab, Mr. Imran Amin for the speedy completion of the project.

The technical team of CBD Punjab and the staff of contractor NLC are busy working day and night at the project site. Riaz Hussain further informed that along with complex piles, digging and slabbing of barrels will be completed soon and the work of retaining walls of the rainwater harvesting tank is also in progress.

CEO CBD Punjab Mr. Imran Amin is also visiting the project site on daily basis to monitor the construction work. During his recent visit, he said that all institutions are cooperating fully to complete the project. All resources are being mobilized to complete the project ahead of time and soon the traffic flow will be improved.

Deputy Commissioner Lahore expressed satisfaction with the pace of the construction work. He said that the convenience of the people should be given first priority and the citizens should be relieved from the temporary commute problem. Dr. Asad Malhi along with the technical staff of CBD Punjab, also briefed Deputy Commissioner Lahore, about the alternative plan for traffic. With the completion of the CBD Punjab Boulevard and Kalma Chowk Underpass remodeling project, millions of people will be benefited on daily basis and this project will be a great comfort for Lahore.

A 50MP Triple AI Camera on realme C35 Gets You the Crispiest Photos

                

realme C35 continues to top charts in Pakistan and other than its design, the 50MP AI Triple Camera on the rear is also a raging favourite. The triple camera system - donning  three  sensors has a 50MP primary sensor  paired with an f/1.8 aperture. The Macro Lens has an f/2.4 aperture, whereas the B&W Portrait Lens has an f/2.8 aperture.

On the front side, it has a single 8MP Selfie Camera paired with an f/2.0 aperture lens. This helps in capturing pictures and videos at a high resolution making the video call experience much more vibrant. The device is equipped with a 6.6 inch IPS LCD; a capacitive touchscreen display capable of supporting the HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels, making realme C35 more attractive than ever.

realme C35 is a 4G powered device with an Octa-core (2 x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 + 6 x 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) CPU. It has 128GB built-in memory with 4GB RAM. Apart of that, a microSD card slot helps users to store additional data of up to 1TB. A Li-Po non-removable 5000 mAh fast charging battery is an added feature of the phone.

CEO CBD Punjab Optimistic for Timely Completion Kalma Chowk Remodeling Project.

                                                  

Imran Amin CEO of Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (PCBDDA) also known as Central Business District (CBD Punjab), chaired a meeting to review the progress of CBD Punjab Boulevard and Kalma Chowk Underpass Remodeling project. Chairman PCBDDA, Mr. Fazeel Asif Jah, Executive Director Technical PCBDDA, Mr. Riaz Hussain, the technical team of PCBDDA and official contractors of PCBDDA also attended the meeting.

In the meeting, the CEO of PCBDDA was briefed about the progress of the construction work on the CBD Punjab Boulevard and Kalma Chowk Underpass Remodeling project. During the briefing session Executive Director Technical PCBDDA, Mr. Riaz Hussain informed the attendees that two sump/well pumps will be installed soon at Ali Zaib Road and complicated retaining piles are completed. Excavation for the rainwater harvesting tank at Saint Marry Park is also completed. He further added that the slabbing of the underpass is in progress and will be completed soon.

On this occasion, the CEO of CBD Punjab, Mr. Imran Amin, said that “We are in sync with our timeline and budget estimate. We are clear about the timely completion of the project. Our utmost priority is to provide relief to the citizens of Lahore in their daily commute.”

Authority has reaffirmed its commitment to opening Kalma Chowk Underpass and other adjoining roads by the end of February 2023 and by the middle of March 2023, both the barrels of CBD Punjab Boulevard will be completed.

Alibaba.com Gathers Exporters at “B2B E-COMMERCE SUMMIT – Bharo Digital Export ki Nayi Uraan – Lahore Se”

                                             

Alibaba.com, a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) trade, hosted “B2B E-COMMERCE SUMMIT – Bharo Digital Export ki Nayi Uraan – Lahore Se” to facilitate Pakistani exporters' understanding of and access to the global B2B market.

The event featured a line-up of speakers from Alibaba.com as well as prominent industry leaders from Lahore, including Miss Amy Li, Marketing Head of Alibaba.com Pakistan; Mr Rana Mansoor Qadir, Former Executive Member - PAAPAM, Mr. Hafiz Ahmed, Ecommerce Influencer and CEO of Ecomrades, and Mr. Shahbaz Siddique, Alibaba.com Certified Trainer.

During the event, global consumer trends in the food and agricultural sectors which have an implication on export from Pakistan were discussed. According to a statista.com report, consumer spending in the global food and beverage market amounted to US$8.66 trillion in 2022, and it will rise by 7.0% per year from 2019 to 2025. Asia accounted for the greatest profit share of the industry in 2022, with a market volume of US$4.3 trillion. For Pakistani exporters, rice is a promising and significant category.

At the event, it was also revealed that the top buyer markets in the agriculture category on Alibaba.com include the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh. Among the top buyer markets in the food category are the United States, Bangladesh and Turkey. Pakistan is also a major buyer market in both categories.

Talking on the occasion, Mr. Rana Mansoor Qadir, Former Executive Member – PAAPAM, said: “We are thankful to Alibaba.com for its efforts to open newer avenues for local businesses to enhance their sales and profitability. The world is changing fast through digitization; therefore traditional businesses should also change for good. Through Alibaba.com's global platform, our businesses can access markets all over the world and contribute effectively to the national economy.”