E-commerce: Pakistan very much on investors’ map

Asia Internet Holding co-CEO keen to invest more in country. CREATIVE COMMONS

KARACHI: Pakistan has always been on the radar – for good reasons and bad. When it comes to online shopping and advertising portals, the market seems ripe to invest.

Foreign investors, keen to expand in other countries, have seen South Asia as a lucrative market with its bulging population and growth in internet penetration. Rocket Internet is one of the foreign companies that have made their presence felt in Pakistan, taking on local competition with its aggressive expansion strategy. Backed by heavy investments, the German based e-commerce focused venture capital firm and startup incubator has captured a share in the country’s growing market.

The company has given stiff competition to leading portals in various spheres including pakwheels.com, zameen.com and homeshopping.pk with clones including carmudi, lamudi and daraz.pk clones. Since the start of their operation in 2012, they have doubled the number of their ventures, pouring in millions of euros.

During his visit to Karachi, Asia Internet Holding co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Koeen Thijssen said that Pakistan has the most number of ventures opposed to the rest of the Asian countries Rocket Internet has invested in. Asia Internet Holding, a joint venture between Rocket Internet and Qatar-based Ooredoo, builds and funds startups across Asia, particularly focusing on ecommerce and mobile services. The core focus is emerging economies in Asia, particularly Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

He said Rocket Internet will pump €180 million during the next three to four years as investment in Asia, declining to quote even a ballpark figure for Pakistan’s share.

“But a major chunk will be invested in Pakistan,” he said.

Recently, Daraz.pk – based on the amazon model – included the electronics category on its online shopping store. “The response has been very good with almost 100 iphones sold in a matter of seven days.

“The profit margins in electronics are very low. The local sellers did not have the platform, skills or the delivery network to sell in high volumes, so they go through us.”

The co-CEO said Pakistan is an interesting case because most of the local ventures are headed by Pakistani nationals, while in the rest of the Asian countries, expats tend to head the ventures. “It’s very unique for Pakistan. It seems that the country naturally has the entrepreneurial gene,” he said, appreciating the country’s workforce. “It’s difficult for expats to recognize local market mechanics.”

When asked about the company’s market strategy, he said, “It is simple; it aims at transparency by providing comparable prices on its websites. We are also using market place strategy for all our ventures,” Thijssen added.

Internationally, the German company – owned by the Samwer brothers– is criticised for its business model that focuses on replicating successful ventures rather than coming up with genuine ideas.

Energy cooperation: Pakistan, Iran to discuss how to push ahead

Negotiations on the electricity price could take around six months and there are hopes that in the meantime issues will be settled between Tehran and Washington. PHOTO: APP

ISLAMABAD: 

With hopes high for a settlement of the nuclear dispute between Iran and global powers, Islamabad and Tehran will meet next week to steer the way towards power and gas supply deals stalled since long due to economic sanctions on the Gulf state.

Officials of Pakistan and Iran will meet in Islamabad on December 8 and 9 in a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC), say officials.

Key issues that will come up for discussion include gas and power supply deals and breaking the deadlock with the US over Iran’s nuclear programme to pave the way for implementing the agreements.

Pakistan has already told Iran that it could not press on with energy trade unless economic curbs are lifted by the US and European Union. It believes that its companies and banks will have to face US and EU penalties if they engage with Iran in any deal.

Last month, Tehran and Washington agreed in Vienna to extend the deadline to March 2015 for a political agreement and reach a final deal by the end of June. This has revived hopes that the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and 1,000-megawatt power import plan could be undertaken.

According to officials, Pakistan has submitted an alternative plan according to which a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline will be laid from Gwadar to Nawabshah and connected with Iran after US sanctions are lifted.

Pakistan has also signed an initial deal for the award of a $3-billion LNG terminal and pipeline contract to China. “This will be discussed with Iranian authorities in the upcoming JMC meeting,” an official said.

Officials pointed out that Pakistan had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran for the import of 1,000MW electricity but progress on the plan stalled in the wake of international restrictions.

Separately, 73MW was being imported from Iran to meet the needs of Gwadar, but payments could not be made since 2011 as no bank was ready to offer its services for clearing the outstanding amount worth millions of dollars.

The government has even failed to pay dues from barter trade also because of the reluctance of banks and shipping companies.

“In the JMC, officials will discuss the progress on the 1,000MW power import plan and suggest ways how to move forward in the face of restrictions,” the official said.

Negotiations on the electricity price could take around six months and there are hopes that in the meantime issues will be settled between Tehran and Washington.

Pakistan is now studying Turkish and Indian models to clear earlier power bills of Iran owed to energy firm Tavanir.

Turkey is making payment against supply of gas by offering precious metals like gold to Iran. India, on the other hand, is paying for the import of petroleum products through a local bank which does not have branches worldwide.

Officials said these models would be discussed with the Iranian authorities in the upcoming meeting.

7 Facts About Bill Gates That Will Definitely Shock You

1. He is not a college graduate.

Bill Gates never completed his college studies. Instead of completing his studies, he founded Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen in 1975, at the age of just 20.

Bill Gates even scored 1590 in his SAT, 10 less than the then highest score of 1600.
At that time, SAT score of 1590 was approximately equal to an IQ of 170.

2. Bill Gates was arrested.

Bill Gates, the founder of world’s biggest software company – Microsoft  was arrested in New Mexico in 1977 for allegedly jumping a red light and driving without a licence.

3. The Richest Man On The Earth

If Bill Gates was a country, he would have been the 37th most richest country on this planet.He was at #1 position on the Forbes list from 1995 to 2009 – except in 2008 where he was pushed to number 3.

4. Money facts

Bill Gates earns about 250$ every second. That’s about 20 million dollars a day and 7.2 Billion dollars a year.

Its is said that if he drops a thousand dollars note, he won’t even bother to pick it up. Because in  those 4 seconds in which he will pick them up, he would will probably already earn it back.

If he donates US$ 15 to everyone on this earth, he will still be left with US$ 5 Million.

5. This is how Bill Gates can get bankrupt.

If Microsoft Windows users can claim just 1 $ for every time their computers hang because of Microsoft Windows, the worlds richest man will be bankrupt in just 3 days.

6. Bill Gates v/s India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest person is ranked 40 in the Forbes list of richest person in this world. His net worth is estimated to be $18.6 billion

Big Gates is the man who has topped this list and has been at same position for 15 of the last 20 years. He has a net worth of $76 billion, 4 times the net worth of Mukesh Ambani.

7. This is how he can spend his money

It is assumed that if Bill Gates lives for another 35 years, then he will have to spend US$ 6.78 Million per day to finish all his money he has before he goes to heaven.

With the money he has, Bill Gates can pay off the entire United States debt in less than 10 years.

In 1959 there were 9 Russian Mountain Hikers found dead. Their skulls were crushed and one of them was missing his tongue, yet all their clothes were highly radioactive.

The Dyatlov Pass Incident is a rare and eerie mystery in Russian history. Nine experienced hikers died on the mountain of inexplicable causes.

It’s a story that has seen so much speculation as to what could have killed nine young students on holiday, skiing in the Ural Mountains, Russia. They never returned and when their bodies were found days later, five of them had been frozen to death and four more had mysterious injuries. One had a missing tongue while another had a smashed head. They all seemed to have fled in terror in the middle of the night from their camp. They left behind their food, skis and warm coats and ran towards a thick forest down a snowy slope. Here, their survival chances were minimal with temperatures of around -30°C (-22° F). Investigators on the case termed the cause of death as “a compelling unknown force”. They filed the case as top secret and closed it.

Smiling before disaster: (Left to right) Nicolai Thibeaux-Brignolle, Luda Dubinina, Semyon Zolotarev and Zina Kolmogorova image source: www.dailymail.co.uk

“If I had a chance to ask God just one question, it would be: ‘What really happ¬ened to my friends that night?’”, says the only survivor of this expedition, Yury Yudin. He had turned back due to illness a few days into the expendition. What happened to his friends remains a painful mystery to him.

Yudin and his friends started the journey on 23rd January 1959. Ortoten Mountain was their destination, in the Northern Urals. Yuri and eight of his friends were students in Ekaterinburg, at the Ural Polytechnic Institute located in Sverdlovsk. They were led by Igor Dyatlov (23), an expert in mountaineering, cross-country and skiing.

The group consisted of Dyatlov, Yudin, Georgy Krivonischenko (24), Zina Kolmogorova (22), Yury Doroshenko (24), Rustem Slobodin (23), Ludmila Dubinina (21), Alexander Kolevatov (25) Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel (24) and Alexander (37) who was the only non-student.

The students travelled by train, road and on foot to get to their destination. Yudin became ill on the way and turned back and that was the last time he ever saw his friends alive. The rest of the journey was documented in the diaries and photos they left at their final camp.

The group skied across uninhabited areas, frozen lakes and arrived at river Auspia where they set up base. Here they left food and equipment for their return journey. From here on, they began climbing towards Otorten. They got lost form here, probably due to bad 

weather

 and ended up on the slopes of mountain Kholat Syakhl, at 3, 600ft height. They pitched tent for the night. Their diaries, photos and the Evening Otorten (a newspaper they produced), show them in good spirits at this point. 

A rescue team was sent when the students failed to return home. The volunteers found the camp, but it was half torn and covered with snow. All their belongings were there, but the tent was cut open from the inside, and had slashes that were big enough to get through. They found footprints that matched the students.

The first two bodies (Yury Doroshenko and Georgy Krivonischenko) were found one and a half kilometers from the tent. They were dressed in their underclothes and barefoot under a pine tree near the edge of the forest. Their hands appeared burned and charred remains of what appeared to have been a fire nearby. 300m further, they found Dyatlov’s body lying on his back, clutching a branch in one hand and facing the camp’s direction. 180m further towards the tent, they found Rustem Slobodin while Zina Kolmogorova lay 150m from him. They appeared to have been trying to crawl back to the tent. Cause of death according to doctors for the five was hypothermia. Slobodin had a fractured skull, but this was not the cause of death.

image source: www.sptimes.ru

Two months later, the other four skiers were found. Their bodies were buried under 4m of snow in a forest ravine that was 250ft away from the location of the first bodies. The deaths of Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel, Alexander Kolevatov, Ludmila Dubinina and Alexander Zolotaryov looked traumatic. The skull of Thibeaux-Brignollel had been crushed while Zolotaryov and Dubunina had several broken ribs. No external wounds were found on the bodies however. Strangely though, bits of clothing they wore contained higher than normal levels of radiation.

Some anomalies after postmortem were that some were fully clothed while others were nearly naked. Dubinina’s body was also missing her eyes and tongue. The investigation was closed by the end of that month and files kept in a secret archive. Adventurous and skiers were barred from the area for three years after this incident.

Half a century later and the deaths of these students are still a mystery. What was the “unknown force”? Was there a cover up? Why did the students leave their tent? How and why was the second group buried in the snow? 

Different theories have come up including an attack from a hostile tribe or criminals, aliens, snowmen and secret military technology. They have however been discounted since no other footsteps except those from the students were found. Others have suggested an attack from bears but animal tracks were not found either. An avalanche too, but no snow was found pouring over the tent. Others have suggested being caught up in a bizarre military accident but no experimental weapons were found at the site.

We probably will never know what happened on those mountains and the mystery on the Mountain of the Dead will still go on unresolved and as intriguing as ever.

Its Amazing How London Planning to Bring new type of Train

Transport for London (TfL) have recently unveiled plans for 250 new “driverless” Tube trains as part of an upgrade that could cost about £16bn. The trains are not expected to be in service until the mid 2020’s and will be installed on the Piccadilly, Central, Waterloo & City and Bakerloo lines.

The new trains, which have been designed by London’s Priestman Good, will initially have an operator on board but will be designed to be fully autonomous. The space freed up from lack of an operator means that passengers can enjoy the view from the front of the train, something that has yet to be possible.

However, the decision to go driverless has outraged the RMT union, with general secretary of the union, Mick Cash, saying in a statement:
“RMT has made it clear repeatedly that any moves towards the lethal and cash driven nonsense of removing drivers on London Underground would be resisted through the most robust industrial and political campaign of opposition.”

TfL defended the decision by explaining that no driver would lose their job and that automation is still as far away as 2030. The plans to switch to driverless carriages will be phased in slowly and appropriately.

TfL is preparing for the growth of London’s population, which is expected to rise from around 8.4 million people today to an estimated 10 million by 2030. The trains are part of what Mayor Boris Johnson has called the “New Tube for London”, the plans for which claim will increase the passenger capacity by thousands.

London Underground said the trains would improve capacity by:

• The Central line by 25% (the equivalent of up to 12,000 customers per hour)
• The Bakerloo line by 25% (the equivalent of up to 8,000 customers per hour)
• The Waterloo & City line by 50% (the equivalent of up to 9,000 customers per hour)
• The Piccadilly line by 60% (the equivalent of up to 19,000 customers per hour)

Doors will be much larger than the current models, allowing faster and more dense boarding and unboarding. The carriages will be “walk-through” meaning that you can walk from the front of the train to the back and a passive air conditioning system will be in place.

The trains are expected to have a lifetime of about 40 years and so they must face not only the current problems experienced on the Underground but they must also be built futureproof to ensure that the high cost of the upgrade goes to good use. The first train is expected to be adopted on the Piccadilly Line in 2022.

- See more at: http://interestingengineering.com/new-tube-the-autonomous-future-of-the-london-underground/#sthash.6VEOaNxY.dpuf

Mobile device usage rises for Internet surfing in Shanghai

About 77.3 percent of people in Shanghai use hand-held Mobile devices such as cell phones and tablet computers to use internet. PHOTO: STOCK IMAGE

SHANGHAI: China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) survey on Wednesday noted that mobile devices such as cell phones and tablet computers have become the second-most popular tool used for Internet browsing in Shanghai besides computers,Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

About 77.3 per cent of people in Shanghai use hand-held mobile devices such as cell phones and tablet computers to use internet, according to the survey done by NBS in the eastern Shanghai metropolis area.

Shanghai citizens spend an average 1.8 hours a day online using mobile terminals, which amounts for a daily 60 per cent of the total time Shanghai people spend online.

The survey also showed that the Internet, besides television and newspapers, was the second-largest media for people to get latest news. The top three motivations for going online ranged from browsing for finding information to do shopping and also for some entertainment.

Around 3,000 randomly chosen residents of 140 communities in Shanghai participated in the survey.

Man with Google Glass suffers from 'Internet addiction disorder'

PARIS, FRANCE: A 31-year-old American was treated for addiction after wearing Google Glass for up to 18 hours a day and even experienced dreams as if looking through the device, doctors said.

It is the first known case of Internet addiction involving Google Glass, a fledgling technology which provides online access via a tiny screen attached to a spectacle frame, they said.

The naval serviceman had a history of drinking, depressive moods and relationship difficulties, according to the case study reported in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

He was admitted to the US Navy’s Substance Abuse Recovery Programme (SARP) in San Diego, California, in September 2013 after resuming heavy drinking.

“The patient had been wearing the Google Glass device each day for up to 18 hours for two months prior to admission, removing the device during sleep and bathing,” the paper says.

“He noted that when he dreamed during his residential treatment, he envisioned the dream through the device.”

“He would experience the dream through a small grey window, which was consistent with what he saw when wearing the device while awake.”

His superiors had allowed the man to use the device for his job as it sped up his work of identifying and logging convoy vehicles.

The gadget also helped him socially, as a topic of conversation with strangers.

The serviceman developed a dependence on the device, and without it “he was less confident and exhibited significant craving similar to patients desiring their substance of abuse,” the study said.

Examined on admission, the patient repeatedly raised his right hand to his temple to tap it with his forefinger — an almost involuntary motion that he had used to turn on Google Glass and gain access to the Internet.

During the admission interview, the man’s short-term memory was poor, he often lost his train of thought and rarely made eye contact, doctors found.

Under the facility’s rules, patients have to give up computers and mobile phones during treatment — something that caused the patient much frustration and annoyance.

“He stated, ‘The withdrawal from this is much worse than the withdrawal I went through from alcohol’,” the study reported.

After his 35-day treatment, the patient became less irritable, the tapping of his temple became less frequent and his thought process and short-term memory improved.

But he still intermittently experienced dreams as if looking through the Glass window.

The investigators did not point the finger of blame at Google Glass but rather at a phenomenon called “Internet addiction disorder”, or IAD.

This is not an officially-recognised medical condition but a term used by some specialists to describe a damaging craving to be online, through video games, computers, phones or other mobile gadgets.

The problem often has an underlying psychological cause, and can be interwoven with other addictive behaviour, such as alcohol or drug abuse.

“To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of IAD involving problematic use of Google Glass,” said the probe, led by Andrew Doan of the SARP.

“Technology has numerous benefits to individuals and to society. However, excessive utilisation of any substance, behaviour and technological device will be associated with physiological and emotional dysfunction.”