KARACHI ECONOMIST

Differentiate to Innovate the Future of the Mall

2012-01-17T23:54:00.000-08:00

There are several shopping malls opening up in Karachi every month but only some of them are able penetrate the market share. These include Atrium Mall, Dolmen Mall and Port Grand which are buzz of the town and have successfully overtaken previous entertainment places like the Park towers, Area 51 and The Arena. There are many malls such as the emerald who are striving really hard to penetrate by marketing different kind of events but the success in Karachi only comes to those who really knows how to differentiate.

Lets say Atrium Mall which apart from having similar facilities such as large food area and reknowned brands, it has the 3D cinema and the gaming zone which distinguish the Atrium mall from malls like Dolmen. Dolmen has its own strategy but the thing that differentiate it from others is the presence of huge Carrefour, the Hyper Star.

Port Grand is different in its own as it provide a unique atmosphere of its own with views of the harbor but the only thing impacting profits at Port Grand is the presence of Rs. 300 entrance fee.

Malls in Karachi has to pursue similar strategies to make their malls a success and buzz of the town. They could even learn from Dubai model by creating different theme malls representing different nations or having a large Aquarium or Ice Skating rink. People here in Karachi have to travel to the hilly areas or Dubai just to enjoy ice.

Another thing they can do is building a large indoor water park inside the mall. Currently all Karachi water parks are very far from the city and one has to wait for a picnic program to have fun in the water. Karachi Malls can introduce this unique element which is currently followed by no other mall in the city to differentiate themselves with that of the other.

Today Karachi Malls are filled with all facilities that include famous brands, indoor kids arena, theatre, food court, bowling arena, event spaces, gaming zone and hypermarkets. The introduction of indoor water park would really distinguish your mall and make it a talk of the town.

Creative Advertisements

2011-12-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

When Karachi's Clifton Underpass was Submerged with Rain Water

Stabilizing Karachi

2011-08-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

Karachi is Pakistan's financial capital and an important entry point for all supplies to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia and also Western China but ongoing violence in Karachi has killed over three hundred people last month alone said BBC.

"What Karachi needs is the certainty of rule of law, so that investors have confidence in setting up businesses" said Musharraf Zaidi a Pakistani Columnist to Council on Foreign Relations. He recommends a well-resourced and trained police force, which includes a robust intelligence infrastructure and an effective criminal justice system (Magistrate Courts).

Karachi presents all the tremendous opportunities that are available to Pakistan as a country with a huge population, a huge youth bulge, and a reasonable tradition of enterprising and innovative businessmen. Most of the innovation in the country in terms of the economy comes from Karachi. All of those opportunities need a conducive environment for Pakistan to shift out of its current phase out of instability.

The city of Karachi needs to find a way of making sure to people all across the globe that it's a place that's not just safe, but that nurtures highly skilled young people.

Karachi suffers because of Pakistan's reputation, and Pakistan's reputation suffers because of its leadership. The only thing International Community could do is to encourage Pakistan make Karachi a safer place so that global finance and international capital can move in and out of Karachi more freely than it does currently.

Read the complete article on Council on Foreign Relations website: http://www.cfr.org/pakistan/stabilizing-karachi/p25645

Chinese Bank Opens in Karachi

2011-05-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

China's banking giant,the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)has opened its branches in Karachi and Islamabad, Xinhua reported.

Recently ICBC has opened five new branches in major European capitals - in Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Madrid and Milan. The banking giant already has branches in Moscow, London, Frankfurt and Luxembourg

Addressing the inaugural ceremony in Islamabad on Friday, Pakistan's Pres. Zardari said that the ICBC initiative to open branches in the country would begin a new era of cooperation in the banking sector of the two countries.

“The opening of ICBC branches, which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, will take the economic relations between the two countries to new heights,” Zardari said.

The president hoped the ICBC’s investment in the country would prove to be profitable and that the bank would play a prominent role in channeling bilateral investments.

Aqeel Karim Dhedhi

2011-04-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

Economists Against Oil & Petrol Price Hike

2011-03-04T04:20:00.000-08:00

Group of emerging economists held a meeting in Karachi. They all come up with one decision, all seriously opposed the government move to increase oil prices in Pakistan at this time.

The Price Hike has already sparked an outcry from the political groups across the country but now the leading economists and business persons are speaking up against this move by the government for the first time.

"This hike is dangerous for Pakistani Rupee and the Economy" Zeeshan V, an emerging economist said in the meeting. "Fulfilling expenditures through central bank borrowing and not raising the oil prices has created a kind of equilibrium in the economy which was forcing Pakistani rupee not to go down despite heavy central bank borrowing, but now this would be reversible and would force Rupee to go down versus other currencies as oil price hike would force other commodities to rise" he added.

The country is already in economic turmoil as Pakistan Peoples Party government has failed to recover the economic cycle. Late last year, they have nearly lost its majority in parliament as allies threatened to leave the coalition amid oil price hike.

The ruling party backed off on the increase to save the coalition, upsetting international lenders whose billions are keeping the country's economy afloat.

It’s the Economy!! Stupid

2011-02-02T03:42:00.000-08:00

The above title is the mostly used quote in US, spoken for the first time by former president Bill Clinton who accused Sr. Pres Bush for taking economic issues lightly. And still over a decade on, US economy is in doldrums where companies are laying off their staff to focus on their core business at times when the economy is in recession.

One of these companies is Yahoo which has recently announced that it will spoof off its staff to cut down on its expenses and it will also close down eight of its services including its popular social networking site Delicious. Yahoo has recently closed its Briefcase and Geocities services. But Yahoo in later statements denied the closure of ‘delicious’.

Other US companies that collapsed last year include A&P a grocery chain with 1400 outlets in East Coast, Affiliated media which couldn’t survive due to ever growing influence of the internet, Ambac The main subsidiary of this bond insurer sold protection on mortgage-backed securities, American Media etc

After Lehman Brothers, Circuit City, General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies, the near failures of AIG and Citigroup seem like a year of convalescence for the global economy.

Pakistan Fuel Price Hike Reversed

2011-01-06T22:55:00.000-08:00

After severe opposition from other political parties including opposition and coalition partners, Government of Pakistan has announced withdrawal of the recent increase in prices of petroleum products.

Several Economists and the IMF has called this move a mistake and said that Pakistan has to undertake difficult economic reforms for long term economic stability. But they don't seem to understand that Pakistan is going through uncertain times and its a state in Emergency which need help from across the world.

The only solution to this problem seem to be Currency Appreciation versus US Dollar on emergency basis to bridge the gap from international prices. US can of course help Pakistan doing that as it has done with Afghanistan whose currency has appreciated after the US led war.

I am keeping my fingers Crossed!!

Pakistan’s Recipe to Disaster

2010-12-27T23:02:00.001-08:00

As per the latest Moody’s international report, Pakistani Rupee would continue to depreciate versus US dollars; the latest report said that Pakistani Rupee would further depreciate by 15% in 2012 to Rupees 99 a US dollar.

The report set alarming bells across all sections in Pakistan where the people and businesses are hoping for some good times by 2012. Report has also shaken Foreign and Local investor’s confidence from Pakistani Capital Markets and those who were planning to invest in Pakistan for longer-term period.

This report provides good chance for Pakistani people to invest their rupees in places where there are high returns. One of the best avenues is of course the money market, the other one is Gold where they can get higher returns.

But the situation in regional countries is highly surprising; currency rates of countries like India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are higher in value than Pakistani rupee. No one can forget that just a decade back Indian rupee and Bangladesh Tika were extremely lower in value than Pakistani rupee, and one Pakistani rupee was equal to 10,000 Afghania.

And still Afghanistan is heavily dependent on Pakistan for its food supplies and most of Pakistan’s wheat is smuggled into Afghanistan that causes Inflation inside Pakistan.

Pakistan by pursuing weaker currency policy is on its verge to disaster. Government of Pakistan should take hostile steps to defend its currency and save the economy against IMF as open market operations would kill the economy on just negative perceptions and not fundamentals.

Stag-Inflation

2010-11-14T02:59:00.000-08:00

Pakistan's Economy is uncertain; no growth, job cuts and super dooper inflation! In my previous blog i've explained Phillips Curve which indicates that whenever inflation is high, there is growth and more employment opportunities but the present situation is completely opposite to that model.

We are seeing Higher Inflation at a time when our country is not growing, there are more job cuts, low GDP growth which is almost equal to our population growth rate. This situation can be refer as Stag-Inflation.

It is the situation when both inflation rate and the unemployment rate are high. It is a difficult economic condition for a country, because inflation and economic stagnation are occurring simultaneously, and until recently no macroeconomic policy had predicted this occurrence.

There is the inflation in the economy because of the money inflow, it means that government is spending money but on unproductive things which are not creating jobs or increasing the GDP size possibly because government is spending money on things like Security and in maintaining their lavish lifestyle.

So who to blame? Well i m going to blame the government which is spending tax payers money on unproductive things which are not creating jobs or increasing the GDP size; And, on the other hand they are pursuing policies such as increasing the taxes on Karachiites, increasing the power charges etc which is shaking the investors confidence.

IMF role here is also to be blamed which is forcing the government to reduce money supply in the economy at a time when the country is at war and facing numerous other challenges at the same time which is also shaking the investors confidence.

Google Launches ‘Google Places’ for Pakistan

2010-10-27T00:50:00.000-07:00

Google Places is free web based service by Google where business owners can create their business listings alongside publishing all important and useful information for their customers.

Business owner can provide all important and useful information ranging from company name to contact numbers to their physical location on map. Not only this, you can add business timings, photos, videos and much more. Furthermore you can also create customized vouchers/coupons to attract more customers.

Business information once submitted to Google Places is then available from all of Google publically accessible services e.g. Google Earth, search, maps etc. Also visible from Google Maps iPhone application.

For a detailed and interactive idea on how Places work and help your business grow, please watch the following video.

Creative Advertisements Job Portal Ad

2010-10-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Here is what we call creative marketing. Given below are few 3D advertising hoardings put up by a job portal company in Denmark's capital city Copenhegan.

You Tube Productions | Online Video Production Company

2010-10-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

With the advent of You Tube growing all around the world the future of entertainment would be "Broadcast Yourself". You Tube is easily viewable on different internet platforms including Facebook, Blogger, iPhone, Android, Nokia and of course Google TV.

Hence it's important to ensure the highest level of quality in video production by exercising creative control on many stages of the editing process so that your video is viewable by internet audiences and your event look at its best.

Karachi Economist provides video production, animation production and editing services serving the corporate, advertising and direct response industries nationwide. We have a proven track record of producing effective corporate sales, training and direct response videos. We focus on using the power of video to deliver a strong Return on Investment.

We can help you with Sales Video, TV Commercials, Corporate Video, Training videos, Info commercials, HD Streaming video, Event production, Crewing, Photography and Mobile productions.

Our studio is equipped with state of the art systems that when used by an experienced video producer will yield the video products you need for personal or business requirements.

eCommerce Marketing Plan

2010-10-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

In my previous blog i've discussed eCommerce websites, i have said that it is very important to have an eCommerce marketing plan. In this blog i will take this dialogue further by focusing on eCommerce marketing strategy.

The industry of e-commerce is one of the fastest and most dynamically developing industries worldwide. In 2002 total volume of retail American e-commerce sales was fixed at $44 billion, one year later it increased to 56 billion and 6.3 trillion in 2005.

Now, we know that there are many eCommerce websites online earning huge revenues and there are some which fail! and the only reason for failure is the lack of having an eCommerce marketing strategy.

Your eCommerce marketing strategy should include Facebook, Google, TradeKey, Alibaba, Ebay, TCS, Print Media, Youtube, Blogger reviews, Newsletter, Call Center, Live Chat etc

For successful eCommerce marketing plan and its services; you can contact Karachi Economist online!

Online Shopping Revolution

2010-10-17T02:27:00.000-07:00

Online Shopping phenomena is on the rise in Karachi where people are preferring to buy their daily groceries especially products like clothes, shoes, books, cell phones and laptops online.

As people are getting more busy with their jobs, they cant afford to go out in the markets in summer heat on sundays to buy their desired products. With Online shops they can easily buy anything while sitting in front of the Internet, which also provides them huge information about the product from its description, photos, videos to the customer reviews.

Online Shops are also providing many facilities to the consumers to make their shopping a relatively easy experience. In early days Online Shopping was only possible with Credit Cards but now with the entrant of courier & logistics companies like TCS in this business which has made online shopping more easier by accepting payments at home at the time of delivery after proper quality assurance.

Online Store also saves your money on things like Property, after which you dont need to buy a property or pay for expenses that occur in keeping your store running. You would only need a perfect Online Marketing Plan to be in the race of competition because you're going global!!

Windows Phone 7

2010-10-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

The most awaited Windows Phone 7 by Microsoft Corporation has been launched yesterday. Here are some of its videos:

Google TV: TV Meets Web, Web Meets TV

2010-09-21T01:45:00.000-07:00

Google, Intel, Logitech and Sony Join Together to Deliver Google TV Platform

DISH Network, Best Buy, Adobe to Support Bringing Devices to Market

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 20, 2010) — Today at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco, leading industry players announced the development of Google TV—an open platform that adds the power of the web to the television viewing experience, ushering in a new category of devices for the living room. Intel, Sony, and Logitech, together with Best Buy, DISH Network and Adobe, joined Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) on stage to announce their support for Google TV.

Over the past decade, the Internet has created unprecedented opportunity for innovation and development across the world, but so far the web has largely been absent from living rooms. With Google TV, consumers will now be able to search and watch an expanded universe of content available from a variety of sources including TV providers, the web, their personal content libraries, and mobile applications.

Search across TV, Web, and Apps

Google TV is based on the Android platform and runs the Google Chrome web browser. Users can access all of their usual TV channels as well as a world of Internet and cloud-based information and applications, including rich Adobe® Flash based content – all from the comfort of their own living room and with the same simplicity as browsing the web. When coupled with the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, Intel’s latest system-on-a-chip designed specifically for consumer electronics, the new platform will offer home theatre quality A/V performance. Sony and Logitech said they would be delivering products based on the new Intel Atom processor and running Google TV later this year. While Google TV is designed to work with any TV operator, at launch the user experience will be fully optimized when paired with DISH Network.

Google TV expands video choice from the hundreds of channels available today through a pay TV provider to the vast storehouse of video content available through the web and streaming videos. The Google TV experience is complemented by the ability to watch streaming video from leading content platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and YouTube. Google TV will also have the capability to run apps from the Android Market.

To navigate the array of content that will now be available through a single device and on a single screen, Google TV introduces an integrated search experience to help viewers easily find relevant content across over-the-air and pay-TV channel listings, DVR, and the Internet, as well as a picture-in-picture layout to access multiple windows simultaneously. Google TV also features an innovative home screen to help viewers quickly organize their favorite content and personalize their TV viewing experience. Some of these features are only available with advanced integration from DISH Network.

Broad Alliance of Industry Leaders

Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman and CEO said, “We are very proud to be working with this distinguished set of partners, all of whom have decades of experience in hardware, design and retail.”

Sony announced plans to introduce “Sony Internet TV,” the World’s first TV lineup incorporating the Google TV platform. The first models are planned to be introduced in the U.S. market in the Fall of 2010 with the lineup featuring both a standalone TV model and set top box-type unit incorporating a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Howard Stringer, Chairman, President and CEO, Sony Corporation said, “I am delighted to announce the unique alignment of Google’s rapidly growing, open source Android platform with Sony’s unparalleled expertise in the field of TV design and technology. The addition of ‘Sony Internet TV’ will further bolster Sony’s comprehensive TV lineup and will fuse new levels of enjoyment and interactivity into the TV experience.”

Logitech will introduce a companion box that brings Google TV to existing HDTV home entertainment systems, easily integrating with any brand of HDTV and set-top box. The companion box will incorporate Logitech’s Harmony® remote control technology, and will include a controller that combines keyboard and remote control capabilities. The company also has plans to introduce an HDTV camera and video chat for Google TV, along with additional choices for navigation and control, including apps to turn a smart phone into an advanced controller for Google TV and home-entertainment systems.

Gerald Quindlen, President and CEO, Logitech said, “We committed to Google TV early on because it aligns with our strategy to support open platforms that enable new immersive experiences in the digital living room. While Google TV enables seamless discovery of all your content, Logitech enables seamless control over how you experience that content. We look forward to continued collaboration with Google and the developer community to create new Google TV experiences that have yet to be imagined.”

The Intel Atom CE4100 processor will power both the Logitech and Sony devices. Paul Otellini, Intel President and CEO praised the collaborative effort and said TV as we know it was being “reinvented.” “Today marks the next step in the evolution of TV. TV’s are becoming smarter as a result of the microprocessor and the Internet. Traditional TV programming will be merged seamlessly with the infinite amount of content on the Internet to enable every viewer to determine what they want to watch, when they want it. This is Moore’s Law transforming television, powered by the performance of Intel microprocessors.”

DISH Network has been a key partner with Google on advanced integration development for Google TV. The two partners began a joint trial over a year ago with more than 400 DISH Network and Google beta users. Based on the continuous feedback from the trial, Google and DISH Network have built the optimized Google TV experience that seamlessly integrates traditional TV, DVR and web content.

Charlie Ergen, Chairman, President and CEO of DISH Network, said, “Google TV marks the next evolution in television, and we are excited to be the first to partner with Google to bring this experience to our customers. Only DISH Network Google TV customers will be able to enjoy a unified search across TV, DVR and web; easily find related content; and manage their entire TV viewing experience. Additionally, the advanced integration will allow developers to create new and exciting applications to enrich the TV viewing experience.”

Best Buy will bring their retail experience and consumer expertise to the project, with Google TV devices being sold at Best Buy locations nationwide later this year. “Every day, our 180,000 Blue Shirt store employees and Geek Squad Agents work with our customers to get them the best home theater experience possible”, said Brian Dunn, CEO Best Buy, “We are thrilled about the new and exciting experiences smart TVs, like Google TV, provide to our customers - and we are looking forward to showcasing those experiences in our store and ensuring customers get connected to all the products and services that bring those experiences to life.”

Finally, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 will be integrated directly into the Google Chrome browser on Google TV, enabling viewers to experience tens of millions of web pages with rich Flash content including games, animations, applications, videos, audio and more. Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO, Adobe said, “An open web ecosystem offers endless opportunities for creativity and innovation. Flash Player 10.1 extends the advantages of full web browsing and consistent, rich experiences to smartphones, tablets, netbooks and Internet-connected TVs. We’re thrilled to be part of the Google TV initiative with other industry leaders who share a common vision of enabling access to the best web experiences possible.”

Opportunity for Developers

The demonstration at I/O highlighted the unique opportunity developers have to help shape the future of Google TV. Today Google announced that they would soon release a set of TV specific APIs for web applications, encouraging web developers to begin building unique web applications for use on television sets. Later this year Google will also release an updated Android SDK, which will support applications built for Google TV.

Google also plans to open source the Google TV platform to help spur innovation in the industry and so that other developers can benefit from the project. The long term goal is to collaborate with the entire developer community to help drive entertainment in the living room forward and to introduce the next generation of TV-watching experience.

For more information about the project visit google.com/tv.

Press Release: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/1007/7141?WT.ac=gtv|7140|nav_announcement

Pakistan Leading Brands Are Working in Collaboration for Flood Victims

2010-08-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

MKRF - Mir Khalil-ur-rehman foundation who own Geo television and Jang group of newspapers has launched an appeal with Imran Khan, the leading politician and former Pakistan cricket team star for Pakistan Flood Victims.

The People can donate in the Fund through any of these available options:

1) Cheque

They can submit their cheque directly into the Habib Bank Account # 06027900799703 Swift: HABBPKKA
The can submit their cheque to any of the TCS outlet anywhere in Pakistan
They can call at this Toll Free: 0800 00048, and TCS Agent will come to their place to collect the cheque

2) 4361 - SMS

People can also donate Rs. 10 via SMS by sending blank message to 4361

* The most astonishing part is that RS. 10 + tax are the charges of this service, Tax is collected despite this amount is for charity, even in the US all $10 SMS for Pakistan Flood Victims are free from all the government taxes

Audit

Pakistan's leading auditing firm AF Ferguson & Co. (member of PriceWaterhouseCoopers network) will Audit the entire process so that the people are assured that the donated amount is spend on the right people. Assuring proper utilisation of donations by Imran Khan Flood Relief (IKFR) programme, Imran Khan said that funds would be distributed in a transparent way. He said the programme would devise short and long term strategies, adding that, in the short term, necessary items would be distributed among the flood victims, while the long-term strategy would focus on rehabilitation of the displaced people. The PTI chairman said that volunteers are being invited to assist in relief activities.

LAW OF HEALTHONOMICS

2010-07-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

1st LAW: Soaring Health-care costs are only the symptoms. You've got to start treating the disease.

2nd LAW: Investing to keep employees working and healthy beats paying for them when they are out and sick.

3rd LAW: Sickness costs more than Wellness

4th LAW: Unmanaged Diabetes and Hypertension can hit your bottom line as hard as inflation and competition.

5th LAW: Throwing money at health-care costs won't make them go away.

6th LAW: Cover health-care costs before they happen

7th LAW: Lower Health-care deductibles are the new competitive advantage.

Thats it!! You can follow our Lifestyle blogs for more on Healthy Lifestyle.

Indian Rupee to Get New Currency Symbol

2010-07-15T21:36:00.000-07:00

Indian jury has given its verdict: the symbol of Indian rupee will change, retaining its Indian character with an international flavour. The five-member panel has chosen IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar’s design from among five shortlisted symbols and recommended it to Indian Cabinet for approval.

Kumar's symbol (on the right) is an amalgam of the Devanagari 'Ra' and the Roman capital 'R' without the stem, very much in line with what Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had envisioned. "We intend to formalise a symbol for the Indian rupee which reflects and captures Indian ethos and culture," Mukherjee said in his Budget speech this year.

The chosen symbol has the Finance Minister's approval, said a Ministry official. The Ministry had organised a symbol design competition with a prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh with the condition that it should be applicable to the standard keyboard, be in the national language script or a visual representation and should represent the historical and cultural ethos of the country.

The basic aim of the new Indian currency symbol is to provide the Indian rupee with international recognition and to isolate it with its current abbreviation of 'Rs' used by its Arch rival Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Kumar's concept, an official said, is based on the Tricolour and "arithmetic equivalence". While the white space between the two horizontal lines gives the impression of the national flag with the Ashok Chakra, the two bold parallel lines stand for 'equals to', representing balance in the economy, both within and with other economies of the world.

Displaced People in Bangladesh; They Aren't Pakistanis!!

2010-07-15T03:08:00.000-07:00

As an economist, I always speak for Free-Immigration but after studying the case of displaced people in Bangladesh often hyped as Pakistanis by some media outlets here which is wrong as these people are originally from Indian state of Bihar and had migrated to Bangladesh after the creation of Muslim state of East Pakistan in 1947 from Indian state of Bihar and other Indian areas.

I am surprised that why these people are dubbed as Pakistanis as they have nothing to do with the land of Pakistan nor they have ever been here nor their forefathers. If these people are allowed to come to Pakistan due to strong lobbying of "General Pakistan Repatriation committee", then this will only create huge economic burden on the country's resources.

These people are living in worst conditions near Dhaka the capital of Bangladesh and are numbered in between 250,000 and 300,000. The state of Bangladesh is providing them free electricity and water with the help of fundings from International donor organizations including UN and Pakistan. If these people are allowed to immigrate into Pakistan then they will only create huge slums and more lower HDI for Pakistan.

What Government of Pakistan needs to is to make clear announcement that these people will not be allowed to immigrate into Pakistan as they will be the burden on the country's economy. Government also need to return funds taken from their lobbyist and announce a major aid package for Bangladesh.

Samsung Karachi Expo

2010-07-15T01:11:00.000-07:00

Samsung Electronics organized an Exhibition of a wide range of Samsung products in Karachi's Pakistan Air force Museum, where visitors were provided with a first-hand experience of Samsung's revolutionary 3D TVs.

The consumers were thrilled by this fantastic display of Samsung's latest products including Digital Cameras, Mobile phones, Air conditioners and 3D LED TV products. Professionals and management of publications and media along with consumers including Techies and bloggers were seen curiously exploring the features and technology of 3D TVs at this innovative show.

The General Manager Samsung Pakistan Mr. Steve Han said; 'The Samsung 'Universe' Exhibition in Karachi has surpassed our expectations and proved to be a highly successful Mega Event. Samsung is the first company to offer a complete 3D product line-up including TVs, Blu-ray player and home theater. This vast festival at the PAF Museum Karachi also delivered the amazing experience of Samsung's highly evolved 3D technology to the consumers. In future, our global research will bring more attractive and exciting products for the Pakistani consumers, including the best-in-class 3D experiences.'

The festival also featured 3 gaming zones. Another highlight of the show was a photo studio where the participants were getting their pictures taken and cheerfully walked away with instant print-outs of their photographs. 3D TV display became the center of attraction at the Exhibition.

Also on display were the fastest PCs, Thinnest Monitors, high-capability Printers, Side-by-Side Refrigerators, classy Microwaves, and Virus-Free Air-conditioners from Samsung. This electronics giant also offers the 'Bada mobile platform' and an integrated store of games, navigation, social-networking, and other lifestyle applications called 'Samsung Apps'.

Launching Karachi Economist

2010-07-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

MediaXpress Inc is all set to launch Karachi Economist, a new service that will provide easy and open access to high-quality multilingual academic output in a single, cross-searchable portal. “A wonderful treasure trove of easy-to-find resources”.

Karachi Economist will support free markets, globalization, free immigration, and will only accept the propositions of Keynesian economics which deemed more "reasonable".

Their primary focus will be on World Business Politics and Economics, but they will also runs regular sections on science and technology as well as on books and the arts. They will support increase in government health and education spending and also their "stimulus" plans for economic development during recession. With roots in classical liberalism, Karachi Economist will disfavor any government interference in either social or economic activity.

FIFA 2010 World Cup Ends Without Sialkot-made Football

2010-07-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Unlike in every FIFA World Cup, where Pakistan is represented in every game in the shape of Sialkot-made Footballs, but unfortunately this year all the Footballs for the FIFA World Cup South Africa were made in China and not Pakistan.

Pakistani footballs, of course, have a long history of being kicked around in Football World Cup tournaments. From the iconic Telstar (which was the first designated official game ball, at the 1970 Mexico World Cup and then at the 1974 World Cup in Germany) to the even more iconic Tango (the official ball of the 1978 and 1982 World Cups in Argentina and Spain), and even at the last World Cup in 2006 in Germany, hand-stitched, high-performance from Pakistan - really from Sialkot - have been the preferred choice for Adidas, the official providers of match balls to the FIFA World Cups.

At one time, Pakistan’s export city of Sialkot was catering to 85 per cent of the total world demand for high-quality inflatable balls, but No longer. Technology is a major factor in tilting the balance against the local industry. The penetration of machine-made balls hit the Sialkot hand made stitched soccer industry.

In order to cope with the menace of machine made balls, the SME Development Authority has at put in place the final steps for the establishing of the Sports Industries Development Centre. It is expected that this project worth Rs435 million will enable the Sialkot sports manufacturing industry to adopt modern technology, without which there is no going forward.

Pakistan & China bond, US out in the cold?

2010-07-08T02:13:00.000-07:00

China has agreed to invest in Pakistan's energy sector. President Asif Zardari is in Beijing at the beginning of a week long visit. And with that deal, and rumours of further nuclear agreements in the offing, U.S. influence over Pakistan appears to be waning. Dr Anatol Lieven from King's College says for Pakistan, China could soon replace America.