Business - 26

Norway’s telecom giant Telenor has planned to invest $1 billion by 2010 in Pakistan’s mobile phone operation relating to infrastructure development, network expansion etc. The company is also likely to hire a new workforce of 400 people in the coming years from the present 350 employees. Telenor has so far invested 60 billion krona in [...]

Pakistan’s power regulators will today break the seals on bids from investment banks and generating consultants seeking to advise on power generation contracts worth at least $1.5bn. The power station, which would provide an extra 1,500MW of capacity, marks Pakistan’s most ambitious effort in more than a decade to raise investment in its resource-starved power [...]

Inspiration comes in the form of Sonny, a Pakistani gentleman who runs a mini-mart in the lobby of my office building. There are probably 1,000 people working in my building, and on any given day, at least 10 percent of us complain about our jobs. And though he has more to complain about than anyone, [...]

American companies are finding a low-cost pool of educated English speakers that rivals neighboring India. So far, the bet by Armbruster’s company, TRG Pakistan Ltd., is paying off. It recently branched beyond its main office in Lahore and opened a second office in Karachi, the nation’s commercial center. By year-end, TRG hopes to expand to [...]

Pakistan has passed all diplomatic and political steps to get elected president of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) unanimously. In a meeting of the 54-member ECOSOC Pakistan will be formally elected president of the council. Pakistan being elected fifth time president of the ECOSOC in its 57 years’ history. Pakistan envoy in [...]

The Metro Group is planning to establish three to four outlets in the first phase at Karachi and Lahore, Dr Hanz-Joschin Korber, chief executive officer of the group, said on Wednesday. According to a press statement issued on Wednesday the Metro is the third largest trading and retailing in Europe and fifth largest in the [...]

Pakistan expects to receive bids from at least eight investors for the privatisation of its state-owned telecoms company including from state-owned south-east Asian operators Singapore Telecom and Telekom Malaysia, the country’s privatisation minister has said. Etisalaat of the UAE and investors from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, The Philippines and Pakistan are also expected to [...]

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday launched country’s first business portal (www.b2bpak.com) meant to assist importers in sourcing raw materials and machinery besides helping exporters to introduce Pakistani products without any extra cost. The website will also provide the business community a forum to interact on business matters besides enabling the users [...]

HERE are two faces of Pakistan. Lahore-based Almas Ali Jovindah is young, English-speaking, urbane and upwardly mobile. He has an export business operating out of Pakistan and the USA and spends his free time anchoring TV talk shows. Then there’s Jethanand Kohistani— Urdu-speaking, raw cotton dealer from Karachi. And both are in Pune for the [...]

Converting power plants to operate on fuels other than they were originally designed for provides the plant owner with both environmental and financial benefits. This growing trend is demonstrated by a captive power plant in Lahore, Pakistan, which Wärtsilä is converting for dual-fuel (DF) operation. The conversion is scheduled for completion in the early part [...]