Toastmaster president visit

Matt Kinsey, DTM President Toastmasters International, visited ICMA Lahore Campus, according to a press release. He was very impressed by the availability of highly skilled human resources in Pakistan as well as the hospitality of the people of Lahore.

TCF and Citi partnership

The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and the Citi Foundation expanded their partnership for the sixth year to implement the ‘21st Century Employability and Digital Skills for the Youth Programme’, as per a press release. Under the collaboration, Citi Foundation provided a one-year grant of $175,000 to support the continuity of quality intermediate learning for TCF college students to help them transition to tertiary education and build technical skills. Citi Foundation has helped impact the lives of over 1,100 youths.

Secondary students from low-income families in Pakistan face immense barriers to transition to intermediate and tertiary education because of irregular classes in government institutions and the unaffordability of expensive tutoring and transportation.

In addition to a rigorous academic curriculum, TCF College offers its students 200 hours of self-development programmes to build and enhance critical technical skills needed in today’s job market. It also organises year-round activities and workshops to enrich students’ learning experiences.

Sanofi’s share transfer

Sanofi announced the conclusion of the Share Purchase Agreement initiated in late 2021 with an investor consortium led by Packages Limited, according to a press release. All 52.87pc shares held by Sanofi Foreign Participations B.V. in Sanofi-aventis Pakistan Limited have been transferred to the consortium. The company will initiate a name change process in due course.

“This is not an exit from the Pakistan market but a different business model to ensure sustainable access to our medicines and vaccines for patients in Pakistan. We strongly believe that this bond between patients, the healthcare community and Sanofi products will continue in the same spirit of trust, quality and reliability,” said Haissam Chraiteh, Sanofi Head of Community Asia & Eurasia.

Education in Italy

The Consulate of Italy in Karachi and the University of Karachi signed a memorandum of understanding for academic cooperation and exchange of faculty and students with the University of Naples L’orientale for a postgraduate degree programme. Furthermore, the University of Karachi has also established contact with two Italian Universities, the University of Perugia for foreigners and the University of Udine, through the office of Consul General Danilo Giurdanella.

Italy has also become an important academic destination for Pakistanis. Each year, the Italian diplomatic mission receives over 1,000 applications for study visas from Sindh and Balochistan.

BankIslami’s financial results

BankIslami Pakistan Limited announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, registering a notable increase of 262% in profit before tax ie Rs3.16bn as compared to Rs0.87bn for the corresponding period of last year, as per a press release. Profit after tax closed at Rs1.79bn compared to Rs0.52bn during the same period last year ie growth of 244pc.

In 2023, BankIslami has focused on the deployment of its surplus liquidity in profitable Shariah-compliant avenues, due to which its financing book increased by 19.6pc in the first three months of this year, improving the advance-to-Deposit ratio (gross) from 53pc in Dec 2022 to 63pc at the end of Mar 2023. Likewise, the investment portfolio also grew by 11.9pc during the first quarter of 2023.

Digital payments

Paymob and 1LINK have announced a partnership agreement to power instant online payouts for merchants registered with Paymob via 1LINK’s payment infrastructure, with Bank Alfalah serving as its settlement bank, as per a press release. This partnership represents a unique offering to merchants in Pakistan by creating an end-to-end digital payments acceptance mechanism integrated with Paymob’s exclusive payout solution suite.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 8th, 2023