Join Huawei’s “Light up Your Community Tree” Activity to Celebrate New Years

 

Spread love and get a chance to win some amazing gifts from Huawei upon participation

 

As the festive season approaches, Huawei is inspiring its consumers and the public to come together on a digital platform – 'Light up Your Community Tree', by visiting the #HUAWEICommunityPK and light up a tree to celebrate the beginning of a New Year and bid farewell to 2020. Every participant will get an opportunity to win the latest, most popular smartphones of the year. This activity aims to engage the community, to pray for the health and prosperity of the whole humanity in the year 2021 and beyond.

 

Huawei – the global technology leader has come up with this socially-engaging and rewarding activity to say farewell to 2020 - a year that brought some unusual socio-economic challenges that can only be resolved through a cohesive response from the whole world.

 

Huawei believes that a fortunate and progressive future awaits the global community and every individual must contribute towards the society's well-being and happiness. As the new decade begins, people must strive together for finding solutions and improving public health standards, with positive thinking, while adding some green and gold in our lives!

 

Huawei has invited everyone to join this activity between 16:00 on 23 December, 2020 and 23:59 on 04 January, 2021, as the Huawei Community in Pakistan is 'Planting' a vibrant New-Year tree on 'Light Up Your Community Tree'. Many lucky participants will win exciting gifts like high-valued smartphones, including: a HUAWEI Y9a, Huawei Y5p, Huawei Y7a, Huawei Y6p, besides Hands-Free kits, personal stars, Medals on community profile and much more. To add more excitement, the value of prizes will increase with the total number of lights added, in three different levels of prize-pools in this activity. So hurry up and join the community now: consumer.huawei.com/community/pk/

 

The participants have to simply go to the HUAWEI Community on the page: 'Light Up Your Community Tree', Click the shining star to light up your tree, Click 'Share My Community Tree' on Facebook or Twitter, Copy & send the invitation link to your friends directly. Add your invitation; "Come to #HUAWEICommunityPK and light up the Tree on New-Year!" Huawei wishes best of luck to every participant, for a chance to win these fantastic prizes and have a delightful new year.

 

For more details, see: [Contest Introduction] Light up Your Community Tree

BankIslami Joins Hands with Bookme.pk to Enable E-ticketing through its Digital Banking Channels

BankIslami, one of the leading Islamic banks of Pakistan with a network of more than 340+ branches in over 116 cities, has signed an agreement with Bookme.pk, the largest online service provider in Pakistan with up to 50+ bus service providers, 200+ airlines and 1500+ hotels.

 

This partnership aims to establish a convenient and hassle-free digital ticket purchasing experience for the digital banking customer base of BankIslami to promote lifestyle banking. Customers will simply use their BankIslami mobile application or internet banking portal to purchase tickets which will allow them to get access to all the latest discounted deals and offers that Bookme.pk provides on its own app and will forward the same incentives to all BankIslami customers by integrating Bookme’s e-ticketing API’s with BankIslami platform.

 

The global pandemic has also promoted the use of digital platforms and has boosted the e-commerce industry therefore, this partnership is highly beneficial for the domestic and international tourism industry as well as the digital banking industry. As a result of this collaboration, customers will be able to buy bus and airline tickets at the cheapest fares in the country with the help of their BankIslami mobile application.

 

CEO of Bookme.pk, Faizan Aslam stated:

“In 2020, Pakistan has completely shifted towards innovation and digitization. In order to expand digital payment solutions for our customers, we’ve partnered with BankIslami too. Especially in COVID-19 times, it is essential to make contactless payments accessible to the user base of both Bookme.pk and BankIslami.”

 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Adeel Ahmed Khan, BankIslami’s Head of ADC stated, “We at BankIslami are constantly trying to create value added services for our digital banking customers across Pakistan. We aim to create a seamless and frictionless digital banking experience for our customers through third party integrations such as Bookme.pk which will further promote our lifestyle banking agenda.”

 

Bookme.pk is Pakistan’s leading e-ticketing platform with over 4.5 million customers in the transportation and entertainment industry. In terms of digital transactions, it is also among the largest e-commerce platforms in the country. It is completely cashless and is already integrated with major payment platforms in Pakistan including JazzCash and Easypaisa to ensure a seamless checkout experience for end-users.

SBP launches consultation on Banking on Equality Policy – an initiative to increase financial inclusion of women in the country

In order to address one of the key challenges hindering economic growth of Pakistan to its full potential, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched a national dialogue on its forthcoming policy to reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion. Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor SBP hosted a webinar titled “Launch of Consultation on Banking on Equality policy: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion” on Monday, December 21, 2020. The webinar featured an exclusive panel discussion around women’s financial inclusion with international thought leaders in the area of gender and finance including Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Director Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN); Ms. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Director of Strategy, Policy and Review Department, IMF; and Dr. Reza Baqir Governor, SBP. Dr. Anita Zaidi, President of Gender Equality at Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation moderated the discussion. Deputy Governor SBP, Ms Sima Kamil made a presentation on the state of women’s financial inclusion in the economy and shared the features of the Banking on Equality policy. The webinar was attended by diverse local and international stakeholders representing public offices, international agencies, banks and associations. In addition, nearly 1,000 people also watched the webinar live through social media platforms.       

Governor SBP, Dr. Reza Baqir, in his opening remarks said that improved gender parity in financial and economic opportunities can enhance overall socio-economic development outcomes of a nation, for not just the present but future generations. He noted that the event had three key goals. The first objective was to bring attention to the shared goal of reducing the gender gap in women’s financial inclusion. The second goal was to share the content of the Banking on Equality policy that was being launched for consultation. Finally, the third goal was to get feedback from stakeholders on the policy itself. He welcomed the feedback that was provided by the international participants and others that would be provided over the course of next several weeks. He noted that central banks in developing and emerging markets, where there are often market failures, have an important role to play in ensuring that important sections of the society don’t get left out from benefitting from the financial system through access to saving, borrowing, insurance and other financial products. He said that the SBP looked forward to working with other domestic and international partners to further the cause of improving women’s financial inclusion. In this context he also appreciated the support being provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for helping advance SBP’s agenda on promoting financial inclusion in Pakistan.

In her presentation Deputy Governor SBP, Ms. Sima Kamil, noted that the gender gap in financial inclusion is rising. She noted that only 11.7 million, or 18% of the adult women, have active bank accounts compared to 51% for men. Deputy Governor Kamil unveiled five key pillars of the Banking on Equality policy under which actions are targeted towards improving institutional diversity, product diversification and development capability, customer acquisition and facilitation approaches towards women segments, gender disaggregated data collection, and prioritizing gender focus in SBP’s policies. The policy recommendations will be applicable on all banks, microfinance banks, DFIs and EMIs.

During the panel discussion, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Director AKDN, shared her views on how to make headways in the gender diversity landscape, and also shared her experience on what steps can make a difference. Ms Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Director IMF, gave her valuable thoughts on the importance of gender diversity in financial service providers that can improve overall women’s financial inclusion in a country. She also shed light on key demand and supply side barriers that globally exist for women’s low financial inclusion.

Now, as the consultation process has commenced, SBP will conduct series of focused stakeholders’ consultation sessions with commercial banks, microfinance banks, women working in FIs, prominent female thought leaders, women chambers, women entrepreneurs and housewives to get more feedback. Based on the broader feedback, the policy will be further enriched. After the feedback is complete, the policy is expected to be launched in early February 2021. The draft policy is available at https://www.sbp.org.pk/events/2020/BankingonEquality/Draft-Policy.pdf  

Release of HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta for Smartphones, a Step Closer to Making Seamless AI Life a Reality

HarmonyOS 2.0 Developer Beta for Smartphones was officially released at HUAWEI Developer Day Beijing 2020, representing a milestone in the construction of the all-encompassing HarmonyOS ecosystem. Smartphone app developers with interest in the 2.0 beta can apply for it on the HUAWEI Developer official website.

Comprehensive HarmonyOS system capabilities, a multitude of APIs, and powerful tools such as the optimized DevEco Studio simulator, have all been made publicly available, facilitating efficient HarmonyOS-compatible smartphone app development. Huawei hopes to welcome more partners to the ecosystem, and give users access to the full range of benefits offered by Seamless AI Life, with smart services that interact with, entertain and educate them in new and profound ways, at home, in the gym and in the office, on the go and on the road.

Wang Chenglu, President of Huawei's Consumer Business Group Software Engineering Department, remarked, "HarmonyOS is a true milestone, as it has redefined how people and devices interact with each other in every facet of daily life. Devices and services are no longer limited to specific life scenarios, now that users can freely customize how their devices work to account for any setting. HarmonyOS will create 'super devices' that come with more enriching apps than ever, as well as life-altering 'super services'."

Unparalleled user experience, made possible by "super devices" and seamless services

A new era is upon us, brought about by the Internet of Everything and powered by the rapid growth of 5G, AI and IoT technologies. The past decade has been dominated by the rise of the smartphone and mobile internet, but over the next decade, no single device offers similar breakthrough potential. Instead, it is multi-device connections that will pave the way to the smart services of tomorrow.

HarmonyOS and its underlying distributed technology are designed for this futuristic Internet of Everything paradigm. By helping create "super devices", which are formed by pooling software and hardware resources from previously physically-independent devices, the system has been making the lofty ambitions in Seamless AI Life a full-blown reality. HarmonyOS helps ensure that all devices are responsive to the user's every whim, and equipped to handle any conceivable usage scenario.

A good example of this principle in action is how HarmonyOS leverages phone-watch collaboration to provide for next-level smart travel solutions. Ride hailing has been made hands-free, with important information such as the taxi's real-time location and license plate number, displayed on the watch screen. Likewise, online shopping will soon be easier than ever, now that group-buyers will be able to view eligible items in other buyers' shopping carts, and make informed decisions with real-time post-discount pricing – or even initiate MeeTime calls to share screens and discuss purchasing strategies.

HarmonyOS encourages all developers to release their imagination and come up with promising ideas on how to create Seamless AI Life services for all users. Therefore it's no small wonder that over 120 mainstream app builders, including JD.com, China UnionPay, Youku Video and iFlytek, have opted to make HarmonyOS their system of choice.

Comprehensive support for developers, facilitating multi-device deployment through one-time development

Today's vast array of IoT devices share little in common, as they can be subdivided into different device types and operating systems. This reality has hindered traditional app development, as apps needed be adapted to fit all of the different screen sizes and systems prior to release. Huawei has made IoT fragmentation a thing of the past, by opening all of HarmonyOS's frameworks and platform toolchains to developers.

Over 15,000 APIs have now been made available, including distributed system services, software and hardware abilities. In doing so, HarmonyOS aims to help create innovative and competitive apps that are compatible with all device types and oriented toward all usage scenarios, with as much ease as experienced in the independent-device app development era. The distributed UI framework fits all screen sizes, and facilitates hassle-free deployment with substantially increased efficiency. The new and improved DevEco Studio 2.0 can realize real-time preview and distributed debugging, which are also ideal for boosting development efficiency.

More than 100,000 developers have joined the HarmonyOS ecosystem, thanks in large part to expert-level support, a wealth of enriching training courses and easy-to-access materials, and open-minded developer communities. The kickoff of the HarmonyOS Developer Innovation Contest, which offers 1.5 million Chinese yuan in prizes and mentorship resources from 20 prominent industry professionals, hopes to drive further engagement among the talented developers that have made HarmonyOS their professional home.

Ground-breaking HarmonyOS technologies, driving the industry forward and unlocking the boundless possibility of Seamless AI Life

HarmonyOS will also transform the business of hardware vendors, by helping them turn products into services. Software innovation will be channelled to bring about differentiated and flexible hardware usage. Hardware resources from all connected devices will be pooled, to enable partners to extract more value by selling services on an ongoing basis, rather than being limited to the one-time product sale. Enticed by this promising new model, more than 20 hardware vendors have become a part of the HarmonyOS ecosystem.

Multi-device interconnectivity has likewise been made seamless, from the very bottom layer, where the connection is unaffected by any software or hardware differences. The user can, for instance, simply tap their phone against a home appliance to establish an instant connection, and have the device information visualized on the phone screen. Connected appliances will also be able to "tell" their user how they're working, laying the foundation for genuine smart homes of the future.

HarmonyOS will be made open-source for a greater range of devices in the near future. The HUAWEI Developer Day 2020 event series will make stops in more major cities, including Shanghai and Guangzhou, to provide aspiring developers with invigorating discussions on cutting-edge technologies and applications.

SBP is all set to launch consultation on Banking on Equality policy for reducing the gender gap in financial inclusion

Women’s access to financial and economic opportunities is essential for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. However, women in Pakistan are disproportionately under-served by the financial system. Only 18% percent of adult women in Pakistan have an active bank account compared with 51% men. In order to address the gender disparities, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has adopted a medium-term national target of 20 million active women bank accounts by 2023 under National Financial Inclusion Strategy. The target will be achieved through the launch of a policy to reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion, titled Banking on Equality, which aims to promote women financial inclusion in Pakistan.

 

 “Banking on Equality: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion”, is a flagship policy initiative of State Bank of Pakistan for promoting women financial inclusion. The policy will introduce a gender lens within the financial sector through specific measures to bring a shift towards gender friendly business practices.

 

To initiate a national dialogue on women financial inclusion, SBP has organized a webinar titled “Consultative Launch of Banking on Equality policy: Reducing the Gender Gap in Financial Inclusion” on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 1730 PKT (Pakistan Standard Time). The webinar, that will be shown live on State Bank’s Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/StateBankPakistan] aims to promote awareness of the significance of women financial inclusion and hold discussions among distinguished international thought leaders to discuss practical ways to give a boost to women financial inclusion in Pakistan.

 

SBP Governor, Dr. Reza Baqir will host the consultative launch of the Banking on Equality policy with introductory presentation on the policy by SBP Deputy Governor Ms. Sima Kamil, and followed by a high level panel discussion around women’s financial inclusion. The panel members would include Princess Zahra Aga Khan Director Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), Ms. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu from IMF and Dr. Reza Baqir Governor, State Bank of Pakistan while Dr. Anita Zaidi from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) will moderate the panel discussion.

 

Princess Zahra Aga Khan is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Princess Zahra serves in various leadership roles within the Aga Khan Development Network, including as Trustee of the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.

Ms. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu is Director of the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department (SPR) of the IMF. In this capacity, she leads the work on the IMF’s strategic direction and the design, implementation, and evaluation of Fund policies. Ms. Pazarbasioglu previously served as Vice President at the World Bank Group.

 

The panel moderator, Dr. Anita Zaidi, is the President of Gender Equality at Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Zaidi is overseeing a division comprised of the Foundation’s Gender Equality program team and Gender Program Advocacy and Communications team.

 

The webinar will be livestreamed on SBP official Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/StateBankPakistan/ 

Huawei Giving December Brings Gifts with Every Huawei Purchase

 

This fascinating extravaganza of free-gifts and rewards for the purchasers begins on Saturday, 12^th December 2020, to continue till Sunday, 20^th December, 2020.

The December festivities are upon us and while everyone is heading into the winter holidays spirit, Huawei has something exciting in store for its fans. For all their beloved phones such as; HUAWEI Nova 7i, HUAWEI Y9a, HUAWEI Y7a, HUAWEI Y8p and HUAWEI Y6p, people can get a guaranteed surprise gift*. This gives an option to choose from your most favourite device, whether it was the most searched HUAWEI Y9a, the fan favourite and most stylish Nova 7i, the superfast and powerful Y7a, the 48MP camera powerhouse Y8p or the youth centric Y6p.

During this “Huawei Giving December” campaign, consumers purchasing Huawei’s top selling smartphones will get delightful surprises and valuable gifts including; high-quality headphones, water-bottles, speakers and table-lamps, etc.

This campaign includes some of Huawei’s most feature rich devices that are easy on the pocket. Inheriting blistering performance, trendy designs and handy functions are characteristics of the Y series. The HUAWEI Y8p boasts a high-definition OLED screen, which represents a major enhancement over its predecessors. Despite its sleek, slender body, it manages to pack a powerful, AI-bolstered 48MP triple AI camera system and 4,000 mAh battery. While the HUAWEI Y7a promises incredible charging speeds, a long lasting battery, a stellar 48MP Quad camera and a massive storage. Meanwhile, HUAWEI Y9a offers a sleek design, powerful performance and good value for money - housing a 64MP Quad Camera which packs-in Huawei’s market-leading smartphone camera technology and the Halo Ring Design makes sure you stand out in more ways than one. On the other hand, the Nova Series has been highly anticipated in Pakistan. This year’s Nova 7i offers a wide range of innovative features for multi-tasking and immersive gaming. It is one of the most complete devices by the company that ticks all the right boxes – design, camera, processor, charging etc.

Being the most popular technology brand in Pakistan, all these revolutionary products reflect Huawei’s deep understanding of the evolving digital needs of the modern-day consumers, enhancing their performance with perpetual digital connectivity, on the go. In a fast-paced lifestyle, thy must engage globally, expressing and sharing their ideas, creativity, memories and experiences with the world.

*Limited stock only.

Contracts between public and private sectors operate with a ‘trust deficit’

ACCA’s global survey about public procurement reveals South Asia respondents want polices that give transparency to the public 

 

Governments around the world have faced challenges with public procurement due to the COVID-19 crisis, testing their ability and capacity to react quickly and efficiently to deliver life-saving goods and services to the public, asserts a new research report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Accountants) New Models of Public Procurement: A Tool For Sustainable Recovery.

 

Surveying finance professionals from both the public and private sector in over 90 markets including South Asia, ACCA’s research identifies a trust deficit between public sector buyers and private sector suppliers. Globally, only 41 per cent of private sector respondents believe the public sector can be trusted to uphold its side of the deal, compared with 60 per cent of public sector respondents stating they trust their private sector counterparts.

 

According to the 136 respondents across South Asia, including Pakistan, the top three challenges faced are bribery and corruption (81 per cent); underdeveloped e-Procurement systems (45 per cent) and poor payment practices by government (41 per cent). Findings also reveal that just 22 per cent of South Asia respondents said the quality of public services was good, compared with 77 per cent in the Middle East and 65 per cent of respondents in North America and Europe.

 

When asked about policy objectives for evaluating public procurement, fair dealing with all bidders and suppliers was viewed as important (63 per cent), followed by transparency to the public (62 per cent) and promoting ethical practices (57 per cent).

 

And to cope with the post COVID-19 recovery, 62 per cent said that governments should introduce procurement strategies that increase transparency in the bid selection process, with 61 per cent saying better digital solutions are needed for the whole procurement cycle and 54 per cent want to see more innovative approaches to public service delivery. 

 

Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan, says: ‘Our report calls for procurement modernisation, with audits commonplace in all public procurement procedures, beginning as early as possible in the bid process to reduce the likelihood of corruption, while ensuring that the auditors remain independent during the process. Due to COVID-19 turbulence, another key recommendation is to use public procurement as an opportunity to keep businesses – in particular, SMEs – afloat by publishing contracts early on centralised, open databases that are accessible to all.’

 

Rachel Bleetman, ACCA’s Public Sector Policy and Research Manager, and co-author of the report says: ‘There’s a growing need to ensure that public spending during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic is not only made more efficient and cost-effective, but that it’s used as an opportunity to tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time - environmental catastrophe, rising social inequalities, ending corruption and meeting the needs for life-saving procurement.’

 

Alex Metcalfe, ACCA’s Head of Public Sector and report co-author adds: ‘Corruption costs the public sector significant sums of money every year and can create feelings of mistrust towards governments. So the role for finance professionals in helping to make, monitor and evaluate these changes is significant and, as this report demonstrates, the global finance profession is needed now more than ever to help transform how the public sector responds to the crisis.’

 

Rachel Bleetman concludes: ‘Across South Asia and on the global stage, there’s room for optimism here as the reforms we recommend around eliminating bribery and corruption, competition and the buyer–supplier relationship, modernisation and COVID-19 and the public procurement ‘need for speed’ will all make for stronger public procurement, which is an essential part of public sector spending that, until now, has received relatively little attention. Now’s the time for change, as history has long taught us that, out of crises, new opportunities can emerge.’