ACCA focuses on building connectivity among BRI countries with accounting infrastructure

The first workshop of the China-Central Asia Accounting Elites Exchange Programme officially kicked off at the Shanghai National Accounting Institute.

The programme, proposed jointly by the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI), the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Institute (CI) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), was announced as one of the important outcomes of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in April this year.

The programme consists of four workshops in a two-year cycle, targeting officials from departments in the accounting field in China and Central Asia, as well as professionals from companies, industry associations, accountancy firms and other accounting theory and practice circles. It will organise symposia, training sessions and field visits with in-depth discussions on topics such as the development of accounting standards, talent cultivation, regulation, the development of accounting service industry, new technology and the development of the accounting sector.

Nearly 30 experts from the accounting standards setting departments, accounting regulators, and accountancy profession of all 11 CAREC countries including China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Georgia attended the first workshop.

Li Kouqing, President of SNAI, Iskandar Abdullaev, Deputy Director of CI and Ada Leung, Director of ACCA Greater China attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.

Speaking about the programme and ACCA’s continuous role in promoting opportunities around the Belt and Road Initiative, Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan said,

“China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a great economic opportunity for Pakistan. The accounting professionals have a duty to promote the ‘Belt and Road’ connectivity to assist governments and businesses to do more trade with other BRI countries. With strong presence in the region, ACCA will continue to play a leading role.”

In his speech, Li Kouqing said that strengthening the construction of 'accounting infrastructure' is vital for improving economic development. A sound accounting infrastructure can promote a country's growth and stability. Specifically, the accounting infrastructure consists of three factors, namely accounting standard system, accounting regulatory framework and accounting talent system. Accounting standard system sets the criteria for accounting method and finance report, aiming to improve the unification, factuality and comparability. Accounting regulatory framework is made up of several forces such as government and society to supervise and manage the accounting work, aiming to guarantee the factuality and completeness and accounting information. Accounting talent system provides the foundation and key to develop, improve and implement the standards and supervise the accounting work.

At present there are differences in accounting standards and accounting professionals of the Belt and Road countries including Central Asian countries. Li Kouqing said: ‘The accounting standards are like the railways of the world. Some are with wide tracks, some are with narrow tracks, and others are with standard tracks. When goods move from one country to another country, you need to unload them and then load them again. Because the tracks are different and the rules are different, the cost of the transaction will be greatly increased.’ Promoting the connectivity of accounting infrastructure should be a due part of the ‘Belt and Road’ cooperation, and an unshirkable duty for the accountancy profession.

Focus on Central Asia to improve its accounting infrastructure

This July, Shanghai National Accounting Institute, joining hands with ZTE New Cloud Service Co., Ltd. and ACCA, and under the auspices of the institute’s ‘Belt and Road’ Accounting Research Centre, conducted research on accounting infrastructure in Central Asia to support the implementation of the programme. Studies have shown that some countries' accounting infrastructure cannot keep up with their economic development. And due to differences in national conditions, the development of accounting infrastructure varies greatly from country to country, and the connectivity between them is poor. This has affected economic development and trade. As Central Asian countries have become more deeply involved in the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative, local economies have become more integrated into regional and global economic development. To better integrate with the international community and attract foreign investment, many countries in Central Asia are taking measures to strengthen accounting infrastructure.

Join hands to build a knowledge exchange platform for accounting infrastructure

The implementation of the China-Central Asia Accounting Elites Exchange Programme is an achievement of joint efforts.

Iskandar Abdullaev, Deputy Director of CI, a regional international think tank for knowledge cooperation, said that since its establishment, CAREC has promoted trade and transportation in Central Asia, and improved the investment environment in Central Asia. Many efforts have been made to provide financing for some regional projects, making substantial progress and important contributions to the development of Central Asia.

CAREC programme is committed to promoting connectivity and achieving shared prosperity. As a common international business language and an important ‘soft infrastructure’, accounting can serve as a bridge for economic exchanges between countries. The China-Central Asia Accounting Elites Exchange Programme will promote the sharing of knowledge and experience in the construction of accounting infrastructure between China and the countries of Central Asia, and will also promote the coordinated development of and cooperation among CAREC member countries.

As a global professional accountancy body, ACCA also plays a key role as a super connector globally, conducting substantial work on preparation and research for the programme through its international network and expertise.

Ada Leung, Director, ACCA Greater China, said that ACCA is one of the pioneers in exploring the impact of the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative on China, the global economy and the development of the accountancy profession.

ACCA is honoured to jointly conduct the programme with its partners, and will continue to carry out a series of studies with partners such as the Shanghai National Accounting Institute and further discuss the opportunities and challenges for the accounting profession, businesses and governments brought by the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative, supporting the implementation of the China-Central Asia Accounting Elites Exchange Programme.

The five-day workshop will conduct in-depth and continuous exchanges and discussions on issues such as the construction of accounting infrastructure, the development and coordination of accounting standards through lectures, experience sharing by various countries, field visits to enterprises, and online communication. The workshop will also establish a platform for exchange between international accounting talents in China and accounting elites in Central Asia.

The programme will also hold workshops in China and Central Asian countries in 2020 and 2021.

realme Pakistan unveiled the new realme 5s at under Rs. 29,999, New year gift for real fans

realme 5s is the first mobile device in Pakistan equipped with Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 665 Mobile Platform, with elevated intelligence, amazing camera and strong power and performance, 48MP quad camera setup and a massive 5000 mAh battery, starting from Rs. 29,999/-

Underscoring its “Dare to Leap” proposition in the market, realme, the fastest growing smartphone brand in Pakistan, today unveiled its 48MP quad camera power hero smartphone - realme 5s equipped with Qualcomm Technologies’ mobile platforms, Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 665 that provide users outstanding performance in under 30K price segment.

Since its launch, realme 5 has been well received by consumers with many positive reviews. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that realme 5 is the first product in its price range with a quad-camera feature that provides users with a greatly enhanced and superb multi-scene and multi-function imaging experience. This time around, realme has further upgraded the camera system with a whole new 48MP AI Quad Camera configuration, to bring our users the experience of flagship level ultra-high definition photography.

With users requiring even better imaging performance and the development in mobile imaging technologies, ultra-high resolution imaging has become the next area of breakthrough in the exploration of mobile imaging technologies. The new 48MP quad-camera imaging system of realme 5s can take photos with resolutions as high as 8000*6000 producing images that are clear and with fine details even after zooming or cropping. In addition, realme 5s adopts the Tetracell technology, which merges four neighboring pixels into a single 1.6μm large pixel, to produce 12-megapixel photos with clearer and higher quality images in low light conditions. This has greatly improved the overall performance of realme 5s in photography. The phone also supports other innovative imaging functions, including Super Nightscape 2.0 and ChromaBoost. These features, combined with AI technologies and realme's well-trained processing algorithms, enable realme 5s to meet photography requirements and allow users to take great photos in different scenes and settings with ease.

Aesthetically, realme 5s features the classic holographic color pattern with diamond cutting design, and now comes in a new vibrant color called Crystal Red, bringing users more fashionable choices. Performance-wise, the phone is powered by a 11nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 AIE processor along with a 5000mAh massive battery, ensuring strong performance with great battery life.

With a stylish and youthful design, a flagship-level ultra-high-definition quad camera setup, as well as top-notch battery life, realme 5s offers users a well-balanced experience that is superior to what its competitors are offering, making it one of the most competitive products in its price range.

realme 5s comes in only one configurations in terms of ram and storage: 4GB + 128GB. The phone will be officially available for purchase on Rs.29,999/-.

Staying True to the Y Series Legacy, HUAWEI Y9s Sets a New Sales Record

The newly launched HUAWEI Y Series variant amassed 10 million worth of sales in just under two hours on its first sales day

Building up on the popularity of its predecessor, the HUAWEI Y9s sold PKR 10 million worth of smartphones within two hours since going on sale. Huawei fans came through once again with their love and loyalty for the brand by visiting the outlets in droves all over Pakistan. The Y series in particular remains one of the most popular phone series in the Pakistani market due to its compelling features in its price segment. It brings flagship innovations in an affordable price range, giving more and more people a chance to experience the technological prowess of Huawei.

As consumers lined up at Huawei outlets across the country, the company ensured it was worth their while by arranging entertaining activities and exclusive offers. Cities like Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Sialkot and many others had fun-filled activities running all through pre-order phase and on the first sales day. The biggest celebration took place in Karachi at LuckyOne Mall where Huawei has its flagship Huawei Experience Store.

The Y Series’ latest entrant, HUAWEI Y9s makes the best even better with its powerful camera, stunning display and outstanding performance. It is one of the few midrange smartphones to feature a 6.59” FHD+ Ultra FullView Display with a 1080p resolution and 391 ppi – the highest in its category.

The photography packs a punch with the 48MP Triple AI Rear Camera that takes 120^O Ultra Wide Angle shots, while a 16MP Pop-up AI Front Camera makes taking selfies entertaining. A side finger print scanner gives a superbly fast & secure access to the phone.

Powered by Kirin 710F that offers high performance and great power efficiency, the HUAWEI Y9s also brings improved software performance. It supports Huawei’s latest GPU Turbo 3.0, a graphic processing acceleration technology that greatly optimizes performance for 85 mainstream global mobile games.

HUAWEI Y9s runs on EMUI 9.1 and provides all Google Mobile Services right from the box. An upgraded camera, immersive display, premium design and build quality makes HUAWEI Y9s one of the best midrange smartphones released this year. With a standard 6GB+128GB storage, and an extendable storage of up to 512GB, the HUAWEI Y9s is available at PKR 42,999/- across any Huawei outlet nationwide or through Huawei’s Flagship Store on Daraz.pk.

Leaders explore new partnership opportunities at ACCA’s corporate luncheon in Peshawar

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) hosted a high-profile corporate networking luncheon in Peshawar to provide an opportunity to local business leaders and policy makers to sit together and explore new partnership opportunities and play a more impactful role in developing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) into a hub of economic activity and innovation. 

Ziaullah Bangash, Advisor to CM on Elementary & Secondary Education attended the event as the Chief Guest and briefed the business and education community on key education reforms introduced by the KP government.

Maqsood Anwar Pervaiz, President, KP Chamber of Commerce and Industries was the Guest of Honour. In his speech, he shared his exclusive insights into local business and education needs and explained why KP is perfectly positioned to become an engine of growth for the country.

The luncheon was attended by a large number of corporate and academic leaders from ACCA’s diverse network of employers in the province. ACCA’s Market Head – Business Development, Assad Hameed Khan, in his welcome address explained that ACCA’s standing as a super connector means we create wider opportunities for our stakeholder and the economies where we operate.

Prominent attendees included Fayyaz Jarral, CFO, FF Steel, Dr. Zia Ur Rehman, CEO, North West General Hospital, Masood Ul Mulk, CEO, Sarhad Rural Support Programme, Dr. Najeeb Ullah, Director, US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy, Dr. Mohsin Khan, Director, Institute of Management Sciences, Faisal Jamil, Executive Vice President, LMKT, Muhammad Munaim, Director Finance, KP IT Board,       Maryam Arshad, CEO, Impact Dynamics, Mujahid Farooqi, Advisor on Economic Growth for KP, USAID, and Suniel Jamil, Group General Manager, Zakori Group.

ACCA is the global body for professional accountant which uses its unrivalled connections across the world to connect people with fulfilling careers, organisations with the best finance talent, and economies with the ingredients for growth.

realme quad camera upgraded again in Pakistan：48-megapixel quad camera, 5000mAh battery and more on 23rd December

While the year is coming to the end soon, realme fans still have a couple of things to look forward to. Pakistan’s youth most favorite mobile brand realme confirmed realme 5s launch on December 23. realme will be sticking to its affordable roots and keeping prices within striking distance of each other. Pakistani youth’s favored smartphone brand realme has quickly snatched market share from existing players and is fast becoming one of the most sought after brands.

realme Pakistan has already started been teasing details about the Realme 5s  display, battery and processor. According to the teaser page, the upcoming handset will sport a 6.5-inch HD display, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 48-megapixel quad camera.

The Realme 5s is essentially a successor to realme 5. The new Realme 5s swaps out the 12-megapixel main camera for a 48-megapixel main camera at the back. Realme 5s carries Samsung made 48-megapixel GM1 sensor for the main camera, which will allow for pixel binning to offer higher details and more sharpness.

Similar to the standard Realme 5, the 5s also features a 6.5-inch HD display resolution. Corning Gorilla Glass 3+ is coated on top for protection against accidental damage and scratches. The device offers an 89 percent screen-to-body ratio. The Realme 5s retains the same design language from the standard model. It flaunts the brand’s signature diamond-cut pattern on the back. There is a fingerprint scanner in the center and camera setup located at the top left corner. The smartphone might come in two color options – Crystal Blue and Crystal Red.

Underneath, the Realme 5s is powered by a Snapdragon 665 chipset paired with 4GB RAM as standard and up to 128GB storage. Users will be able to expand up to 256GB via micro SD card. The phone thrives on a 5000mAh battery with a 10W fast charging system. 4GB+128GB variant will be available in Pakistan.

Since its entry into the Pakistani market less than 11 months ago, realme powered by Oppo, has already launched 8 products across different price segments from premium flagships to trendy mid-rangers, all designed particularly for the youth. They are also gearing up for the launch of their latest additions in the classic realme series in the coming months. realme is proving it has planned an even steeper growth trajectory than its parent company through a targeted focus on the youth.

realme Pakistan teases realme 5s a new powerhero device for real fans

If you thought realme were done for the year with the launch of their premium realme XT well, you’re wrong because the company has just sent out teasers to the upcoming launch of their next smartphone, the Realme 5s. The Fastest growing youth’s favorite mobile brand realme Pakistan confirmed that Realme 5s will be unveiled soon. Company posted a teaser image of realme 5s on their official page to create anticipation amongst realme fans. The image of 5s, reveals that phone looks similar to the Realme 5 series device.

This new model is essentially the same as the realme 5 but with an upgraded primary sensor in the quad-camera setup. The 12-megapixel primary sensor has been swapped out for a 48-megapixel one, giving the new realme 5s considerable advantage. It’s a mid-range handset and it sits sort of right in the realme 5 and realme 5 Pro sector of the market. Upfront, the smartphone features a large 6.5″ display, it has got a 720p resolution of 1600×720 pixels. That being said, at its heart, the phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor, and it also has a large 5,000 mAh battery keeping the lights on.

realme 5s will sport a diamond cut back panel design, a quad rear camera setup at the back. realme 5s features a quad camera at the back that revolves around its 48MP f/1.8 aperture wide angle main camera. Alongside this high resolution camera, you’ve got an 8MP f/2.2 aperture ultra wide camera, a 2MP macro camera and a 2MP depth sensor.

This new smartphone come in two colors: Crystal Red and Crystal Blue. Realme 5s which was launched in international markets last month has become a very popular device due to its premium look and features in a budget price. Major top tier tech reviewers like techno ruhez and 91 mobiles have rated realme 5s as the most “premium looking smartphone” complimenting its stylish design and massive battery.

Audit and AI – tentative first steps to improve audit quality and efficiency

The audit profession is still at the very early stages of introducing artificial intelligence, but should guard against full implementation, reveals ACCA and CA ANZ’s Audit and Technology report.

A survey of ACCA members and affiliates about their understanding of terms such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), data analytics and robotic process automation (RPA), revealed technology’s ability to renew processes that improve audit quality and increase efficiency.

The report reveals how technology is also a catalyst that will help shift the focus of the audit process from a retrospective view to one which is prospective. It also assesses the technologies having most impact on the audit profession as we know it today.

Drawing on existing research and exploring the views of leading practitioners, it provides an understanding of how the changing business environment is shaping technological change in auditing – summarising how different technologies could be expected to impact its future and what this means for auditors as people.

Key findings in the report also revealed:

•      Among the available technologies, data analytics is currently the most mature and is currently used by most firms

•      The audit profession is still at a very early stage with AI and has not embedded it as deeply as it could

•      The human relationship between client and auditor remains important: not everything can be replaced by technology

•      Auditors will need to be more adaptable to change in future

ACCA’s report Closing the Expectation Gap in Audit found that 55% of the general public across 11 countries believe that, if auditors followed the requirements of existing auditing standards, they could prevent corporate failure.

Furthermore, 70% believe that audit should evolve to prevent corporate failure. Although some may reasonably argue that such demands are unrealistic, technology may help to satisfy the public demand, at least partly, in future.

Maggie McGhee, executive director – governance at ACCA, said: ‘Technology offers the ability both to improve the quality of audit and to add value to it: audit is moving from being a reactive, backward-looking exercise to a proactive, predictive, forward-looking one, working in real time.

‘As such, it provides an opportunity to help clients by providing timely insights. Even in its traditional context, technology now offers an opportunity to produce higher-quality audits that better serve for their existing purpose.

‘Nonetheless, if AI and related technologies are fully implemented, it could raise questions about the auditor’s independence.

‘We hope Audit and Technology provides insights for both businesses and auditors themselves on how they may adapt most effectively in the face of significant change.’

Simon Grant, Group Executive International Development and Advocacy & Professional Standing at CA ANZ, said: ‘If we can anticipate the possible impacts of technology and harness it so we understand the benefits to the accounting profession, technological change could then be such an empowering opportunity rather than a challenge for our profession.’

Haleeb Foods supports Free-Education, donating Rs.3 from every liter pack

Haleeb Foods one of the leading food and beverages company of Pakistan has now launched another social-development initiative, titled: “Donate to Educate - Agay Barhay Ga Pakistan”. In order to support Free of cost education for the underprivileged children, Haleeb has partnered with Master Ayub – a firefighter during the day, who has taken the noble responsibility of being a voluntary teacher in the evening. For the past 30 years, Master Ayub has been educating street kids, Free of Cost, by conducting a Park-School, in Islamabad.

With a pledge to provide financial assistance to Master Ayub, for supporting his selfless cause, Haleeb will donate 3 Rupees, from every liter pack purchased by the consumers. This donation from Haleeb is helping Master Ayub accomplish his dream of making schooling and associated expenses absolutely free for his pupil.

Sami Qahar - Commercial Director at Haleeb Foods lauded Master Muhammad Ayub for such a selfless initiative. He further added, “Being a socially responsible organization, we provide healthy dairy products to the people. We are pleased to partner with Master Ayub’s cause and his school, which has taught thousands of children, voluntarily, over three decades. His exemplary efforts are an inspiration for all. Every resourceful individual and enterprise must identify such ‘Heroes of Pakistan’ and extend maximum support to them. Education is transformation for students, as well as their family, community, and country.”

Belonging to a poor family, Master Ayub lost his parents at a young age. However, he worked very hard, day & night, to study along with the responsibility of rearing his 5 brothers and 3 sisters who are all well-educated now. With his limited resources he has created a free-school for poor children, where he also gives them free books and copies. Over the decades, thousands of children have already studied in this school to get into respectable employment or businesses, while others are getting higher education in colleges or universities.

The students and their parents express their gratitude and prayers for Master Ayub, who has transformed their lives. They believe that; Haleeb kay Saath – Agay Barhay Ga Pakistan. Many students are inspired to follow their great teacher’s foot-steps.  

Haleeb is adopting global best-practices and innovative technologies, to ensure consistent production and nation-wide availability of safe and healthy, packaged dairy products. It is creating public-awareness and educating the masses about the advantages of consuming hygienic and high-quality, nutritional dairy products to nurture a more vital and productive nation. Being the 5^th largest milk-producing nation in the world, Pakistan’s dairy industry is creating large-scale employment opportunities for the farmers in the rural regions, while ensuring the well-being of the urban areas, for a sustainable economy.

Other remarkable initiatives of Haleeb includes; the collection, reuse and recycling of old vinyl billboard skins from Advertising agencies and companies. Instead of dumping the old panaflex skins as garbage, Haleeb is up-cycling them to create sheds of upto 4,000 square feet for dairy ranchers. Such sheds, tents and overhead covers are already protecting the cattle and farmers from the scorching heat, in District Jhang of Punjab. 

realme Becomes The Fastest Growing Smartphone Brand Ranking No.7

realme Makes Top 7 Global Smartphone Shipments, an increase of 808% from last year

Smartphone brand realme announces that realme ranks the 7^th according to the statistics of global smartphone shipments of realme in Q3 of 2019 from Counterpoint. It is the first time that realme becomes top 7 mobile phone brands after being top 10 in Q2 of 2019. More importantly, the total shipments of Q3 are more than 10 million and the year over year growth of realme reaches to 808% which ranks 1^st among the world making it the fastest growing smartphone brand.

1. realme Becomes Top 7 Smartphone Brand

It is because of the “Dare to Leap” brand concept which realme has always insisted that realme accomplishes such a surprising results as a 18-month-established young brand when the global smartphone shipments are constantly decreasing, additionally, the “Dare to Leap” strength of realme products also plays an important role.

In October, 2019, realme announces that its global users has exceeded 17 million and officially becomes the mainstream global mobile phone brand. At present, the whole product portfolio of realme has entered European market as the flagship product is introduced in overseas high-end market which is the goal of realme’s globalization strategy. At this point, realme has entered over 20 markets including China, Southeast Asia, Russia, India, Europe and so on, meanwhile, it has made great results in many new large-scale markets.

Plan on The Complete Product Portfolio

The “Dare to Leap” brand concept and the whole outstanding products has played a significant part in realme doing such a brilliant job during short period of time. realme officially makes the whole product portfolio covering entry-level products to flagship in the whole global markets after launching realme X2 Pro and brings surprising “Dare to Leap” products to customers in every price.

2.The first flagship product of realme, realme X2 Pro

At the same time, as a new brand, the young realme invites the global industrial design giant Naoto Fukasawa to become the Invited Design Director of realme. realme and Naoto has corporate with each other to bring many realme Master Edition products to inspire smartphone industrial design and the Master Edition has made great reputation among customers who have more demands.

Fully Plan on leading 5G

Earlier in September this year, Qualcomm Corporation officially launched Snapdragon 7 Series 5G mobile platform, realme announced that it would become one of the terminal manufacturers which are going to be shipped with Qualcomm integrated 5G mobile platform firstly. The whole new Snapdragon 7 Series 5G mobile platform will make new realme products more powerful and bring better experiences to users. Besides, realme also makes great effort in IoT field, it tries to research on Wearable Device, AR/VR, Cloud Game, Internet of things and other aspects and explore new products from the IoT angle of the whole 5G Ecology to find more application scenarios.

realme devotes itself to enhancing the speed of 5G’s globalized dissemination and utilize the whole global markets to bring the improved 5G exploring experiences and terminal products to new markets and help with the local manufacturers 5G testing infrastructure to establish 5G internet and step into 5G age more quickly.

realme has landed a record of “The World’s Fastest Mobile Phone Brand Becoming Top 10”, now it becomes the world’s fastest growing smartphone brand ranking the 7^th which shows the magnificent strength of the brand. The “Dare to Leap” brand concept and products are the spirit of realme. Hopefully, realme will bring us more miracles in the future.

realme's upward trajectory in Pakistan has been phenomenal since the brand's entry last year, realme has been aggressive in its approach, launching successful budget to mid-range smartphones with an attractive spec sheet and affordable pricing. realme has made a name for itself by selling smartphones with powerful hardware at prices aggressive enough to go up against its competitors. Pakistani youth’s favored smartphone brand realme has quickly snatched market share from existing players and is fast becoming one of the most sought after brands. Since its entry into the Pakistani market less than 11 months ago, realme powered by Oppo, has already launched 8 products across different price segments from premium flagships to trendy mid-rangers, all designed particularly for the youth. They are also gearing up for the launch of their latest additions in the classic realme series in the coming months. realme is proving it has planned an even steeper growth trajectory than its parent company through a targeted focus on the youth.

CARFIRST EXPANDS ITS OPERATIONS TO FAISALABAD

BRINGS EASE OF BUYING AND SELLING USED CARS TO FAISALABAD  

CarFirst, Pakistan's most trusted used car trading platform commenced its operations in Faisalabad with the bid to rapidly expand its network in the major metro cities in Punjab. CarFirst will be opening purchase centres, sales centres and offering franchising services in Faisalabad within the next two months.

The expansion aims to provide potential car sellers with a safe and hassle-free car trading service in Faisalabad. Quick, transparent and seamless car trading, fuelled by innovation and implementation of international best practices, serve as primary drivers of the demand for CarFirst services in Faisalabad. CarFirst has catered to the rising demand trends of the used car market by rapidly expanding its services across Pakistan. Foree Payment recently launched by CarFirst marked it as the fastest way to sell a used car in Pakistan. CarFirst aims to always put their customer’s convenience first and to further simplify and expedite the car selling process in Pakistan.  

Present at the inauguration Mr Rana Muhammad Sikandar Azam President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) said: ““The biggest challenge facing the industry was reliable sources and quick payment, CarFirst directly solves these problems eliminating any elements of fraud with their instant inspection and payment system. The contemporary world requires digitalization and innovate solutions to our problems, for all these reasons and more we welcome CarFirst to Faisalabad and pray for their prosperity”

Commenting at the inauguration Faisalabad operations, Raja Murad Khan, Co-Founder and CEO of CarFirst said, “Increasing demand of CarFirst’s services in central Punjab has brought us to Pakistan’s third-largest city - Faisalabad. We look forward to providing Faisalabad with a quick, convenient, innovative and secure way of selling and buying a used car. 

60% of SMEs globally not supported to tackle bribery and corruption

A new global survey by ACCA has revealed 60% believe there is insufficient guidance for SMEs to combat bribery and corruption.

The research, commissioned by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), has highlighted that of 932 cross-sector accountants surveyed, fewer than one in three believe there is enough support for small businesses to tackle bribery and corruption.

In the professional accountancy body’s report Combating bribery in the SME sector, respondents outlined fears that procedures and policies and risk assessments are not always in place to help management and the employees.

The survey showed how SMEs value practising accountants for their all-round business support services, but that there is still a pressing need for collaborative work with governments around the world, inter-governmental departments and other stakeholders.

‘Bribery and corruption is not only a concern for SMEs. It is a concern for our society as a whole which continuously erodes ethical values and norms. The long-term harm done to the whole economy is recognised by many in the business world in Pakistan, and the official government messages that bribery and corruption must not be tolerated should be repeated loud and often. But practically supporting SMEs in Pakistan to tackle bribery and corruption should be the first step.’ – Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan

Jason Piper, global policy lead for Business Law at ACCA, highlighted the challenges that SMEs face in understanding the legal requirements in connection with bribery and corruption.

Mr Piper pinpointed SMEs globally are overwhelmingly seeing bribery and corruption as having a negative impact on the business environment.

He said: ‘The findings from this survey are conclusive and show businesses are desperately searching for that much-needed support.

Globally, 62% of survey respondents believe SMEs that demonstrate strong anti-bribery credentials will be more likely to be able to trade with large businesses and public bodies. This reflects that fact that global enterprises are increasingly concerned about their supply chain exposure to a range of risks associated with CSR, including bribery and corruption issues.

‘Compared with our survey findings from six years ago, small businesses believe there is even less guidance on combating bribery and corruption. We found that employees negotiating on behalf of companies need awareness courses on what constitutes bribery - and more important how to deal with this.

‘Crucially, anti-bribery guidance for SMEs needs to be short and accessible. This is something most of our members questioned do not believe to be the case.’

Mr Piper concluded that whilst the accountancy profession has been working to support small businesses, collaborative work with governments around the world, inter-governmental departments and other stakeholders must continue to progress.

He said: ‘ACCA will continue to work with the stakeholders with the objective of more resources being made available. Governments need to ensure whistle-blowers remain protected - through developing additional guidance or improving awareness of what already exists in this area.’

realme announced an amazing price discount on realme C2 3GB/64GB variant

realme's upward trajectory in Pakistan has been phenomenal since the brand's entry last year, realme has been aggressive in its approach, launching successful budget to mid-range smartphones with an attractive spec sheet and affordable pricing. realme has made a name for itself by selling smartphones with powerful hardware at prices aggressive enough to go up against its competitors. Last month company brought an upgrade to the realme C2 with new 3GB RAM + 64GB ROM variant in three beautiful colours diamond black, blue & Sapphire at Rs. 21,999 which soon became “Pakistan ki real choice” the device is breaking the sales in entry level smartphone market with massive response to the new entrant this device will be now available at Rs. 19,999.

Taking a leap on entry level smartphone series Realme launched a new storage variant of the realme C2, which comes with 64GB of inbuilt storage paired with 3GB of RAM. The realme C2 is also available in two other memory configurations – 3GB+32GB, 2GB+32GB in diamond black and blue colours.

The realme C2 is well designed and has a diamond-cut pattern on the back that makes it look premium. The phone is compact and feels comfortable to hold in the hand. It has a dual camera setup at the back which consists of a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Powering the smartphone is a MediaTek Helio P22 SoC. realme is packed in a 4000mAh battery which delivers very good battery life. The supplied 10W charger is also quick enough to top the battery up.

The company recently launched the Realme 5 series and the flagship realme XT and it did manage to shake the industry up. Owing enormous response to the Quad Camera best-selling Realme 5 realme Pakistan might launch its successor before the end of this year. The device was launched in a brand new color and an all new upgraded camera in the Indian market just last month.

Pakistani youth’s favored smartphone brand realme has quickly snatched market share from existing players and is fast becoming one of the most sought after brands. Since its entry into the Pakistani market less than 11 months ago, realme powered by Oppo, has already launched 8 products across different price segments from premium flagships to trendy mid-rangers, all designed particularly for the youth. They are also gearing up for the launch of their latest additions in the classic realme series in the coming months. realme is proving it has planned an even steeper growth trajectory than its parent company through a targeted focus on the youth.