Category: Information Technology

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and Bank Alfalah signed an agreement at a ceremony held at PSX Trading Hall, making Bank Alfalah the first commercial bank in Pakistan to be designated as a Market Maker for Debt Securities at the PSX.

Accordingly, Bank Alfalah will be able to perform market-making activities for various debt instruments such as Government Debt Securities like PIBs, T-Bills as well as Sukuks.

Market Makers perform the crucial role of providing liquidity and depth to the market by continuously quoting two-way prices, i.e. bid and offer, helping investors to buy or sell securities.

PSX CEO Farrukh H. Khan and Bank Alfalah President & CEO Atif Bajwa signed the agreement. Present at the ceremony were Chairman PSX Sulaiman S. Mehdi, Group Head of Treasury and Capital Markets, Bank Alfalah Mr. Ali Sultan, board members of PSX, and senior management of both the organizations.

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At the ceremony, PSX CEO Farrukh Khan remarked, “Growth of the debt markets is an important strategic objective of PSX and critical for the economic growth of Pakistan. In line with the recent regulatory changes introduced by SECP and PSX, I am very happy that Bank Alfalah has been approved as the first market maker of debt securities at the Exchange.

This will usher a new chapter in the growth of debt markets, thereby ensuring a deep, liquid, and transparent secondary debt market in Pakistan. This will benefit both issuers and investors”.

He said,

Bank Alfalah has a long-standing commitment to the capital markets and is one of the few banks with a presence in both the brokerage and asset management industries. Hence, I am particularly happy that they have also taken this step to become the first bank to become a market maker on PSX.

Moreover, PSX CEO added, “This will help in further developing Pakistan’s debt market to regional and international levels. This requires all stakeholders in the financial system to play an active role, and we believe that this is a significant milestone in the development of the debt markets in Pakistan.”

CEO Bank Alfalah Atif Bajwa said,

Bank Alfalah would like to thank SECP and PSX for their continued efforts in developing and promoting the capital markets of Pakistan. Sharing the same vision, we believe that a well-developed capital market is important from both issuer and investor perspectives.

Furthermore, he said, “At present, the domestic market is primarily focused on bank loans for financing requirements. This needs to be complemented by capital market instruments as an alternative and effective financing medium. Corporates should be encouraged to tap capital markets so that the borrowers can diversify their sources of funding, while investors can have multiple options for investments”.

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Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has decided to implement a system similar to that in the United Kingdom to ensure transparency in licensing and training of pilots.

The CAA has taken this decision to emancipate itself from the restrictions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that were imposed after the Minister for Aviation, Ghulam Sarwar Khan, had revealed on the floor of the National Assembly that most of the national flag carrier’s pilots possessed fake credentials.

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According to details, Deputy DG Regulatory CAA, Nadir Shafi Dar, recently held an online meeting with CEO UK’s CAA, Richard Moriarty, and discussed a wide range of matters relating to the national CAA.

The online meeting comes at the back of an ICAO session that was held earlier this month during which CAA failed to address the concerns of the ICAO. However, the ICAO had given CAA a period of 90 days to ensure it addresses its concerns across four areas including licensing and training of pilots.

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During the online meeting, the UK’s CAA assured complete cooperation and pledged to extend maximum support to the national CAA for deploying a similar system in Pakistan. Moreover, the UK’s CAA has also offered to install the state-of-the-art licensing and training system with 30 days.

Sources within CAA are confident that the deployment of a system similar to that of the UK will address the concerns of ICAO, adding that licenses that will be issued after adopting the system will be recognized worldwide.

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Prime Minister Imran Khan has approved the establishment of the National Job Portal, which is aimed at providing employment opportunities to the youth.
He made this decision on Monday in a meeting with the Special Assistant on Youth Affairs, Usman Dar.
It was also decided that the responsibility of controlling the COVID-19 spread may be reassigned to Tiger Force, given the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the country.
The PM termed the country’s youth as an asset and accentuated that empowering them was the top priority of his government.
Special Assistant on Youth Affairs, Usman Dar, also gave a briefing to the Prime Minister on the Kamyab Jawan program. He apprised the premier on the progress made in providing loans to youth and on National Job Portal.
The post Govt to Establish a Centralized National Job Portal appeared first on .

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Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars will face off against each other in the highly-anticipated Pakistan Super League (PSL) 5 final match at the National Stadium Karachi on Tuesday.
The two teams share a rivalry like no other and their fans have been battling it out on social media ever since the two teams made it to the final.
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Karachi and Lahore, two of Pakistan’s biggest cities, have produced some of the best cricketers in Pakistani history, but this has slowly been changing. As pointed out by Dr. Nauman Niaz in a tweet, both the squads have only one player between them from either of the two cities. Babar Azam, who is from Lahore, is playing for Karachi Kings.
Sargodha-born, veteran all-rounder, Mohammad Hafeez, took a dig at the rivalry by replying to the tweet.
عقلمند کو اشارہ کافی ھے۔لاھور کراچی کرکٹ ؟ https://t.co/bfEo6qCOGY
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) November 16, 2020
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England’s proposed tour of Pakistan is set to be postponed until September or October next year. There were reports of Pakistan hosting England for a short T20I tour in January of the next year, but due to scheduling conflicts, the tour is set to be postponed.
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England is scheduled to play a Test series against Sri Lanka, and India in January, and many of their limited-overs stars have been signed by Big Bash League franchises, so that leaves no window for the team to tour Pakistan.
There were reports that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was looking to send their second-string team, but both the countries have decided against it. ECB is not keen to hand out international caps to players that would not play under normal circumstances and the cost of the tour was too high for them to see it as a viable option.
It was reported that ECB was looking to arrange a training camp in UAE and then travel to Karachi fo..

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Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government might announce a one-month-long winter break if the COVID-19 situation at educations intuitions worsens.
The announcement was made on Monday at a press conference that followed the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting.
Khan said that the government will closely monitor the situation for another week and will base its decision on consultations with provincial and other authorities.
“Regarding schools, we have decided to monitor the situation for another week. If we observe that the virus is spreading through schools, then we will extend winter vacations and reduce summer vacations,” he said while briefing the media after the meeting.
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A decision in this regard had been due last Monday but the NCC had deferred it for another week after the officials at the Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference had failed to reach a consensus regarding it.
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Ever since Samsung released its first foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, there has been speculation that Apple is working on its own iteration as well. From that point, we have seen several design patents for a foldable iPhone and now newer reports are claiming that Apple has started testing its first folding smartphone.
The report from Economic Daily says that Apple is being sent samples of foldable phones from Chinese suppliers including Foxconn and New Nikko. The company is reportedly deciding between using an OLED or a microLED panel on the device.
This decision would significantly change the device’s manufacturing process as microLED technology offers better power efficiency, higher brightness, and saturation. Until then, the device will be in its testing phase with folding screens, specifically with screens and hinges. Samsung will reportedly provide the display and the hinges will come from Foxconn and New Nikko.
These hinges will be tested for over 100,000 folds and New N..

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