Dec 10 - 16, 2001

SZABIST

Businessweek in its latest online edition (www.businessweek.com/bschools) has listed Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) among the leading business schools of the world. SZABIST is listed along-with other top schools of the world including Wharton, Kellogg, Harvard & MIT. Only 16 business schools from Asia were chosen to be listed in Businessweek. SZABIST is the only MBA School from Pakistan to be recognized by Businessweek.

PSO awards term contract for supply of HSFO for year 2002

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has awarded term contracts for the supply of 2.3 million tons of High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) for 2002 to three bidders. The contract has been split among the three parties with a view to avoid refinance on one party and encourage more suppliers.

PSO had invited bids from pre-qualified suppliers of petroleum products through newspapers on November 1, 2001 for the supply of 2.3 million tons of HSFO during the period January to December 2002 on term contract basis. The bids were opened in a transparent manner on November 16th, 2001 in the presence of bidders and their representatives. Eight international suppliers/traders participated in the bids.

M/s Bakri International Energy Limited of Saudi Arabia got 50 per cent quantity while M/s Hascombe Limited of London and M/s Fal Oil Company of Sharjah were awarded 25 per cent each.

PSO has awarded the contract to three different suppliers with a view to avoid reliance on one party and encourage more suppliers.

Meanwhile, the validity of bids for the supply of LSFO has been extended up to December 10th. The contract for LSFO, therefore, would be awarded soon.

PAKISTAN SEEKING DEBT RE-PROFILING

The Governor State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Ishrat Hussain stated that Pakistan was negotiating to re-profile its foreign loans with USA and other countries. He was speaking at a Seminar at the Bahria Institute of Management & Computer Sciences, Karachi. The Governor said that re-profiling was a better deal than the re-scheduling of loans. He clarified that in re-profiling, the repayment capability of the borrower is taken into consideration. Thereafter the borrower country is allowed to continue to make the suitable re-payment for a longer period on a yearly basis. The governor SBP stated this relief is more helpful for the borrower as compared to the re-scheduling in which case the payment was deferred to a future date, which ultimately inflates the future amount. The Governor also announced that the State Bank of Pakistan has decided to launch a scholarship scheme for the meritorious students for higher studies.

The Seminar was organized by the Economics Society of the Bahria Institute of Management & Computer Sciences, Karachi, a major constituent unit of the federally chartered Bahria University, Islamabad. The topic of the Seminar was " Lifting of Sanctions on Pakistan — Challenges and Prospects for our Economy." Other Speakers in the Seminar included Mr Sirajuddin Aziz, Executive Incharge, Treasury & International Banking Division, Bank Alfalah Limited and Mr. A. B. Shahid, Managing Director & Chief Executive, Pak Gulf Leasing Company Limited.

Cathay Pacific opens "The Pier"

Cathay Pacific Airways opened the doors to The Pier, its new lounge at Hong Kong International Airport. The Pier offers a number of new features including a Juice Bar, exclusive Day-Break Rooms, three bars and two restaurants, 60 broadband connected computers and a wireless LAN for connecting with laptop computers. It is located between gates 62 and 66 and so is ideal for passengers transiting or departing from gates near the Northwest concourse of Hong Kong's vast modern airport.

Microsoft and P@SHA Seminar on .Net technology

Microsoft recently organized a one-day seminar on ".Net technology" in collaboration with Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA) at a local hotel. The members of PASHA and professionals from all the major software houses attended the seminar.

Mr. Imran Aziz, Program Manager, Ebiz Portal Solutions and .Net Enterprise Servers, Microsoft Corporation, USA, was the guest speaker at the seminar. He emphasized on the importance of ".Net technology" in today's emerging business opportunities. Mr. Aziz has a strong background in various development technologies with specific focus on Microsoft Ebiz Servers- BizTalk Server, Content Management Server, SQL Server and Software Development practices using C++, C+, Visual Basic (VB) and .Net framework.

. Net is Microsoft's platform for XML (Extensible Markup Language) web services. XML web services allow applications to communicate and share data over the Internet, regardless of operating system or programming language. The Microsoft .Net platform includes a comprehensive family of products, built on XML and Internet standards. The five areas where Microsoft is building the .Net platforms today are: Tools, Servers, XML Web Services, Clients and .Net experiences.

Mr. Imran Aziz, who is based in Seattle came to Pakistan to elaborate the specific needs of the .Net technology, .Net Enterprise Servers and the developer technologies worldwide. While answering to questions of the participants, Mr. Imran Aziz said, "Undoubtedly, Pakistan's software industry is in its infancy but there is a great potential, furthermore, it is developing at a very fast pace which is encouraging". He also appreciated PASHA and Jawwad Rehman's (Business Development Manager, Microsoft Pakistan) efforts for arranging such seminars. He also highlighted in detail about Microsoft's technology, the local software industry and the latest issues in the global technology.

During the seminar Mr. Jawwad Rehman, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Pakistan, said, " We want to continue the process of education in .Net technology and to encourage the local IT market to effectively compete in the global software industry". Syed Hamza Matin, President PASHA commented on the .Net Seminar and said, "Seminars like these should be held frequently".

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software-any time, any place, and on any device.

Microsoft and P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association) organised a seminar on ".Net Technology" in Karachi recently. Picture shows (L-R) Mr. Imran Aziz, Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation, USA; Syed Hamza Matin, President P@SHA and Mr. Jawwad Rehman, Business Development Manager, Microsoft Pakistan briefing the audience about the ".Net Technology" and the trends in Pakistan's software industry.