The I.T Industry

[Red aRRow]

Originally Posted by siamu maharaj

Any idea why he visited Pakistan?

Schmidt even wrote an article about it:

https://plus.google.com/104233435224...ts/4UcNomnhipX

[khalid-don]

IT sector highly visible in next five years
July 26, 2012 RECORDER REPORT

CEO and Chairman NetSol Technologies Ltd Salim Ghauri said on Wednesday that IT industry in the next five years will be highly visible in the economy of the country. Talking to a private news channel, he said over 1000 IT companies are working with over 100,000 employees, generating over a billion dollars in IT export today.

In the next five years, this number will change dynamically and IT industry will be contributing very much to the economy. He said IT industry has reached its mature stage and it has been progressing since 20 years though its work is not visible but it continues silently. He said due to rapid progress in the field of IT, the name of Pakistan is included in the list of best IT countries.

He said Pakistan is doing 5 billion's export in IT industry and it is at No 2 in the IT services of the world. He said continuous work is carried on in the IT software and progress is being achieved rapidly in almost all of its areas including mobiles, telephony, internet etc adding 1500 teams are working in this sector.

He said that next five years are very significant for exploring more innovations in the IT industry as it is contributing positively in the economy of the country. Salim Ghauri said the govt should take care of IT software and services exemption issue immediately as it will be expired by the year 2016. He said IT industry is young so it needed govt's attention towards this sector otherwise it may be weaken. He hoped that our IT Service is contributing enormously as Pakistan is in a normal situation now and threat of terrorism has also been diminished.

[khalid-don]

5 billion exports and no. 2 in IT services of the world. When did that happen?

[siamu maharaj]

It never happened.

[KB]

Originally Posted by khalid-don

5 billion exports and no. 2 in IT services of the worlds. When did that happen?

Just before the writer woke up

[Red aRRow]

Originally Posted by KB

Just before the writer woke up

[Naresh]

Originally Posted by KB

Just before the writer woke up

KB Ji :

The writer has nothing to do with the "Figures" as he is only quoting CEO and Chairman NetSol Technologies Ltd Salim Ghauri.

There must be a ring of truth in Mr. Ghauri stating Pakistan is doing 5 billion's export in IT industry and it is at No 2 in the IT services of the world.

It may be US$ 4.5 Billion or even US$4.0 Billion but not less.

Cheers

[brightside.]

No, he is not quoting anyone, he is making it up because he is that incompetent.

[RFSK]

Originally Posted by brightside.

No, he is not quoting anyone, he is making it up because he is that incompetent.

And you know that because?

[Ahmad Hanbal]

Originally Posted by RFSK

And you know that because?

he is talking about 1 lakh empoyees. yes it seems right, seems ok as there are too many software houses and companies in markets of lahore karachi and islamabad. if we devide 5 billions dollars per head, it is 5 lakh per person. and to my knowledge that is even less than average salary of a software engineer. so to my analysis, it is at least 5 billion dollars per anum. may be 8.

[Ahmad Hanbal]

he is talking about 1 lakh empoyees. yes it seems right, seems ok as there are too many software houses and companies in markets of lahore karachi and islamabad. if we devide 5 billions dollars per head, it is 5 lakh per person. and to my knowledge that is even less than average salary of a software engineer. so to my analysis, it is at least 5 billion dollars per anum. may be 8.

[khalid-don]

do you have any source to prove that. Also 5 lakh dollar per engineer seems to be a big amount or you meant 5 lakh Rs.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Cheap is smarter: Let the smartphone price wars begin

For the segment to take off in Pakistan, cheaper options and 3G technology are key.

While Apple and Samsung take each other on in the lucrative high-end smartphone market, there is another battle taking place in the less glamorous world of inexpensive smartphones.

With an ever-growing portion of the worlds multi-bilion mobile phone users replacing their basic cellphones, with better and more advanced options, the market is exploding for smartphones that cost about $150 or less. And the lead in this has been taken by Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE who are leaders in that segment. Better known brands like Samsung also compete well in this segment that has been totally shunned by other big players like Apple and HTC. Apple of course has never bothered about the low- or even mid-end segments while HTC has said in a recent press statement that it will not enter the lower-end segment, just the mid- and high-end segments.

HTC will remain focused on the mid-to-high end of the smartphone market despite its recent struggles, according to CEO Peter Chou. “We don’t want to destroy our brand image,” Chou said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “We insist on using better materials to make better products that offer premium experience. Many consumers like that.”

Nokia is still the global and regional leader when it comes to low-end phones – despite a strong challenge by Chinese manufacturers – but it too has not really stepped into the low-end smartphone market, yet. Their recent Asha series priced at about Rs10,000 is a definte improvement but at the end of the day, they are not smartphones. They are still Symbian phones with a vastly improved user interface.

But the low-end segment of the smartphone market is now getting even more crowded, as Chinese internet companies such as Alibaba and Baidu jump on the bandwagon by teaming up with electronics makers to launch inexpensive smartphones.

“There are too many new entrants in the low-end segment, and competition is getting more and more intense,” said Nicolas Baratte, CLSA’s regional head of technology research, according to media reports. Margins will be very thin and it will be difficult for anyone to make money in that segment, he added.

Last month, Baidu, China’s biggest Web search engine, teamed up with major Chinese TV maker Changhong to launch a smartphone priced under Rs15,000. Meanwhile, Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce company, and Haier, a major Chinese home appliances maker, said this month that they are together launching a smartphone, also priced just under Rs15,000. With the new smartphones, which run on operating systems that steer users to the Internet companies’ services, Baidu and Alibaba are trying to generate more mobile traffic for their services.

And now, in Pakistan, following Samsung’s offering in the Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 QMobile, a Pakistani brand, which markets Chinese phones has come up with a sub-Rs10,000 android phone.

After talking to some local cellphone dealers, the general impression one gets is that customers are increasingly chasing lower prices. This is the primary reason why Pakistan has a booming used phoe market. This is of course fuelled by issues like lower disposable income, and the higher incidence of theft which has forced people to not buy more expensive phones. The other factor which has discouraged smartphone sales in Pakistan is the absence of 3G, at a time when the world, for the most part has moved on to 4G. Yet, at the same time dealers say that now more and more people want smartphone that lets them get on the internet, do social networking, lets them play video games, and play video but at an affordable price.

Apart from the users who are loyal fans of Apples iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy series, the rest of the market is now moving towards lower prices. This is truer of course for markets with two attributes. One, is the absence of an option of being able to buy discounted phones with an annual plan, and two, where the buying power is still low. At least one of these two is true for three of the largest populations in the region, China, India and Pakistan.

And now an increasing number of lesser-known Chinese brands are also selling smartphones that cost about a quarter of the price of Apple’s iPhone 4S, fueling further growth in a market that is already the world’s largest after it surpassed the US late last year. So it is a good enough gauge of what will, or can work in Pakistan as well.

If we take a look at the Chinese market smartphones priced between Rs7,000 and Rs15,000 accounted for about 64% of the market in the first quarter of this year, compared with 45% less than a year ago, according to research firm Analysys International. Meanwhile, the percentage of smartphones priced between Rs15,000 and Rs22,000 has decreased to 14% from 22% over the same period. This is a clear indicator that any player who can cut prices will take the lead. Pakistan is no different.

[brightside.]

What is HTC talking about? What are HTC Explorer and HTC Desire C if not lower end phones?

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Rightly said, these two phones are in lower priced category...

[khalid-don]

Pakistan Introduces New Identification System At Borders
August 28th, 2012 at 4:10 pm (UTC-4)

Pakistan is replacing a U.S.-developed personal identification system at its airports and border crossings with a domestically developed software.
Dawn News service reported Tuesday that the new Integrated Border Management System, or IBMS, was installed at 120 other entry and exit points, most recently at Torkham crossing on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

The new system is linked with the National Database and registration Authority , Federal Investigation Agency and Interpol.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik inaugurated the installation of IBMS at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport Saturday, saying it will help prevent the entry of terrorists into the country and curb cross-border crime.

Malik also said the validity of Pakistan's passports issued after September 15 will be increased from five to 10 years.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-ne...tem-at-borders

[khalid-don]

How IT is Helping Improve Indo-Pak Relations

Added 14th Aug 2012
Shubhra Rishi It may be referred to as the world’s most dangerous border, but India’s neighboring state Pakistan is turning out to be a safe haven for IT services. According to a recent Gartner report, despite the sovereign debt issues in Europe and slowing exports in China, the ITO market in the emerging Asia/Pacific region is expected to represent the highest growth among all regions.

In the period from 2003 to 2005, Pakistan’s IT exports hiked to fifty percent and summed up to a total of about $48.5 million.

Pakistan’s IT market has a hoard of small firms that have contributed to the country’s growing global technology business. In the first quarter of 2011-2012,Pakistan’s exports of IT and IT-enabled services witnessed an outstanding growth of 32.6% from previous year.

The country exports financial and mobile applications, software solutions, BPO services and infrastructure development support services to different countries. The US is the largest buyer of Pakistan’s IT-enabled services, followed by the UK, according to the Daily.

According to Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), the IT industry revenues are projected to grow to $11 billion by 2016.

But a recent World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Information Technology Report, ranked Pakistan 102 out of 144 countries in terms of development and growth of Information Communication Technology. According to the report, the low rank is a reflection of lack of efficiency and poor governance on the part of the government.

However, the recent bilateral talks by the Indian and Pakistani governments have done IT some good.

According to a report by Tribune, Pakistan and India could boost their mutual trade in Information and Technology (IT) sector up to colossal US$ 5 billion through joint-ventures, investment and exchange of expertise. On August 2nd, 2012,India granted Pakistan the status of Most Favored Nation by permitting foreign direct investments from the country. "The Government of India has reviewed the policy and decided to permit a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan to make investments inIndia," the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a press note.

SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Vikramjit Singh Sahney termed the decision as one of the strongest confidence building measures to improve bilateral relations.

As both India and Pakistan step into their 66th year of Independence, it is important to note that IT has been most instrumental in the progress achieved by both nations. Here’s hoping that bilateral trade relation in IT will further accelerate the pace of growth and be mutually beneficial.

http://www.cio.in/news/independence-...ions-294852012

[khalid-don]

IT and cellphone surge surpasses GDP growth

6 August 2012

IT and cellular growth is surpassing Pakistan’s GDP, economic and industrial growth, the latest business results confirm.

While the GDP ranged between controversial estimates and claims of 2.7 per cent to 3.7 per cent, the IT industry and cellular growth in the just-ended financial year 2011-12 has been very significant.

Besides cellular phones growth reported by Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA), the sector’s another institution, the financial market and equity regulator Security & Exchange commission of Pakistan (SECP) report for fiscal year 2011-12 is also upbeat. SECP says the number of registered IT companies, foreign direct investment, and exports of their services and products recorded “ a handsome growth.”

SECP says the number of IT companies registered with it rose to 260 in financial year 2011-12, rising from 209 in fiscal year 2010-11, and came in with “considerable investment.” As of now, after sectors like trading, services, and religious travel, IT ranks fourth among all sectors. IT companies have a variety of specialisations, including software production and services, mobile applications, gaming and graphics, hardware systems and computer networking.

IT sector reported a 13 per cent growth in FDI investment inflows, rising to $ 45 million in financial year 2011-12. Software development saw an FDI rise of 12.8 per cent to $ 16.7 million. IT services reported a 12.16 per cent increase in investment at $ 28.2 million.

IT exports recorded a 13 per cent increase to $247 million — up from $ 217 million in financial year 2010-11, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank.At the same time, cellular business has done still better. The number of cellular subscribers rose to 119.86 million at end of financial year 2011-12. The increase in the first eleven months of the year alone was 10.966 million.

“The number of new connections has been rising at a monthly average of 0.99 million in July-May of financial year 2011-12,” reports Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) the industry regulator.

“The overall teledensity of cellular phone users reached 68.60 per cent by the third quarter of financial year 2011-12. It means, every 68 persons out of 100 own a mobile phone connections in Pakistan,” PTA also says.

There are five major cellular companies operating in Pakistan, including Egypt-based Mobilink, U-fone — a subsidiary of etisalat-owned Pakistani telecom giant Pakistan Telecom Company Ltd (PTCL), Norway’s Telenor, UAE-owned Warid, and Chinese-owned Zhong.

Mobilink , the biggest operator, has 36.4 million subscribers. Telenor, even though a new comer which has caught up fast, stands at number two with 29.89 million subscribers. Ufone is subscribed by 23.5 million people. Zong has 16.56 million subscribers, while Warid has 13.7 million.
All companies are furiously competing, easing tariffs and expanding the range of their services to attract customers. “The subscriber growth was recorded in urban and rural areas both, in different age groups and income classes,” analysis of company reports indicates. The number of subscribers among lower income groups and the younger, especially the students, is growing fast.

In-spite of the fact that the growth of new cellular subscriber in the big city like Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Peshawar and Islamabad is close to saturation, the number is still on the rise. A large number of big-city subscribers have multiple SIMS of various companies among the five. A big segment of school-going students, becoming younger and younger in age groups, are purchasing cellular phones these days to use SIMS for communication, entertainment and social and contacts.

Customers are using the variety of new services, with more than one SIM of various companies, to benefit from on-net calls, SMS bundles, for professional social and entertainment purposes, user-preference analysis indicates.

Cellular services are expanding in the rural areas and villages which were not previously served by land-line and traditional telephone services. The five operators haven expanded their network infrastructures. But still vast, far flung areas are without infrastructures, and are yet to be opened for mobile phones. The operators are attracting new customers by offering free air time, competitive services and even holding lotteries to give out prizes and cars to new customers.

The overall number of cellular connections is a bit on the high side, because a number of people have multiple SIMS from competing operators. There have been cases of even criminals using several SIMS for unlawful activities. In view of this, PTA has limited the number of SIMS to five that can be provided to a single individual. Previously, there were cases of persons holding even up to 50 SIMS. It has also been made obligatory on operators and their outlets to sell SIMS only on the basis of National Identity Cards (NIC) which are issued by the government. A customer has to show the original NIC, and provide the company a photo copy of the same, for the operator’s record.

The most interesting aspect of the IT-cellular phone business and investment is that it is growing at a decent pace, while the overall economy is moving in a rather slow mode. IT-Cellular investment still has a good business and profit potential.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-artic...on=uaebusiness

[JIAP]

Originally Posted by farazilu

Google Street view in Lahore.

There is street view in Lahore?

[brightside.]

Good to hear +ve news about IT and cellular growth in the country.