‘AAA’ (Triple A) and ‘A-1+’ (A-One Plus) ratings reflect PTCL leading market position

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited PTCL has been assigned initial long term entity rating of ‘AAA’ (Triple A) and short term rating of ‘A-1+’ (A-One Plus) by JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (JCR-VIS). The assigned ratings reflect PTCL’s leading market position, extensive network infrastructure, strong financial risk profile and adequate business risk profile.

Long term rating of AAA signifies highest credit quality with negligible risk factors being only slightly more than those for risk-free GoP’s debt. Short term rating of A-1+ signifies highest certainty of timely payment, healthy short term liquidity including internal operating factors and/or access to alternative sources of funds, and is below risk free GoP’s short term obligations. Outlook on the assigned ratings is ‘Stable’.

PTCL continues to enjoy market leadership position in most business segments that it operates. PTCL has a market share of 80% in the documented broadband segment, around 90% in the fixed line voice segment and around 30% in the wireless data segment. PTCL’s share in the IP Bandwidth market stands at around 60%. Despite risk of product substitution from CMOs (for fixed line voice segment) and competition from OTT apps (for international business), business risk profile is supported by healthy growth outlook for broadband and corporate services segment. The ratings incorporate PTCL’s debt free balance sheet and abundant liquidity, important elements that provide the company with financial flexibility and support its rating.

According to JCR-VIS, revenues of the telecom sector in Pakistan have grown at a CAGR of 2.4% over the last 5 years. Moreover, with increase in number of subscribers, teledensity has increased to 73% while broadband penetration stood at 29% leaving room for significant demand growth.

Furthermore, JCR-VIS recent findings conclude that four Cellular mobile operators (CMOs) currently continue to dominate the market in Pakistan and generate around four-fifth of the total revenues. Data business remained the main driver of growth after voice business stagnation. CMOs continue to face pricing challenges in a competitive market as reflected by low average revenue per user (ARPU) vis-à-vis regional peers. The remaining one-fifth of the revenues is generated through Local Loop, Long Distance International and Wireless Local Loop segment.

JCR-VIS further validates that the Wireline broadband segment has significant room for growth given that only 5% of the household having access to Wireline broadband vis-à-vis 48.1% average in Asia and 18% in Africa. Given the focus on improving service quality and strengthening in network infrastructure through the network transformation project (NTP), PTCL is well positioned to benefit from growth potential in the broadband segment.

Daraz announces 11.11 – World’s Biggest Sale Day, coming to Pakistan for the first time on November 11th

Leading e-commerce company, Daraz, is bringing 11.11, the ‘World’s Biggest Sale Day’, to Pakistan for the first time. The one-day sale is sponsored by Unilever, L’Oreal, P&G, Nestle, Mi, and PEL – as well as HBL as our financial main partner. The first mega event since the launch of the new Daraz App, customers can expect a truly personalized and supercharged lineup of activities. Daraz 11.11 is a first of its kind event and is set to be a game-changer for regional e-commerce.

What is 11.11?

11.11 started in 2009, when Alibaba, Daraz’s parent-company, positioned it as Asia’s answer to Black Friday. Fast-forward 10 years and the headlining 11.11 sale is ready to make the journey to Pakistan.  The one-day event posts unequaled sales numbers, four times that of Black Friday. Customers can look forward to a fully personalized shopping experience, in addition to unimaginable mega deals, flash sales, thousands of brand vouchers, mystery boxes, discounts from banks, giveaways and more. The one-day sale event on the new Daraz App will be the biggest to date for the e-commerce company.

When is 11.11?

11.11 is the numeric short-form of 11th November. On November 11th, 2018, Pakistan will greet the sale phenomenon with open arms and carts.

Managing Director Daraz Pakistan, Ehsan Saya, shared his thoughts on the upcoming flagship sale: “11.11 is poised to make e-commerce and mobile app history. Once you experience what the Daraz App has in store for you, everyone will be able to draw a line in the sand and say: that was Daraz before 11.11. This is Daraz after 11.11. It will mark a paradigm shift. 11.11 is about more than just deals and discounts – it will bring our entire digital ecosystem into play, fusing A.I, entertainment, algorithm-assisted personalization, and access to an assortment more than 2 million products deep – all in one.”For press queries please  contact:pr@daraz.pk 0302-261 4489

Live in the moment with the Galaxy A9

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the Galaxy A9, a smartphone built for those who love to explore, capture the moment and share it as they see it. The pioneering Galaxy A9 debuts the world’s first rear quad camera and is packed with features designed to help you live each day to the fullest.

The Galaxy A9 is tailored for those who know what they want, and go after it. Whether it’s capturing a dare-devil selfie or that perfect panorama, the Galaxy A9 is the ultimate companion for capturing and sharing everyday adventures, no matter where life takes you.

“As a global leader in smartphone innovation, we understand the demand for meaningful innovation in a fast-paced world driven by visual communication,” said DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “Building on our legacy in smartphone camera development we’re introducing next-generation technology across our entire Galaxy portfolio to give more consumers the opportunity to experience cutting-edge innovation. We’re excited to deliver on this promise and debut world leading smartphone camera technology with the Galaxy A9.”

In an exciting and connected world where moments and memories, from the everyday to the once-in-a-lifetime, are captured and shared instantly, the smartphone has become so much more than just a phone to consumers. That’s why the Galaxy A9 is packed with Samsung’s best camera innovations, to enable all consumers to achieve more, experience more and unlock more possibilities every day.

 

The Innovative Rear Quad Camera

The Galaxy A9 allows you to capture dynamic and beautiful photos effortlessly. With four lenses, experience even more ways to unleash your creativity and capture, create and share stunning images.

• Get close without compromise with 2x Optical Zoomfor incredible and detailed close-up shots even from far away.
• Capture the world in its fullest and without limit, with the Ultra Wide Lens, and shoot like a pro with the Scene Optimizer. Thanks to AI Scene Recognition, your camera is now smarter, and able to identify the subject and adjust settings accordingly for the best photo, in an instant.
• Express your creativity with the Depth Lens, giving you the freedom to manually manage the photos’ depth of field and focus on the subject for stunning, professional looking images.
• Capture clear and bright images in both bright and low light conditions with Galaxy A9’s24MP Main Lens, for gorgeous photos at any time of the day.

Powerful New Features For Exceptional all-day Performance

The reliable3,800mAh[1] battery life on the Galaxy A9 lets you live without limits and enjoy outstanding long-lasting performance. You can now capture everything, without restriction, store more and delete less with the Galaxy A9’s 128GB storage and up to 512GB of expandable memory.

Designed to make life more convenient, the Galaxy A9 features Bixby[2], Samsung Pay[3] and Samsung Health and you can take advantage of the many multi-tasking benefits the Galaxy A9 offers, including App Pair.

First Class Design

Building on Samsung’s heritage in first-class design, the Galaxy A9 is styled in three unique colors; Caviar Black, Lemonade Blue and Bubblegum Pink[4] with a sleek and ergonomic design, that fits in one hand with a 3D Glass curved back for a high-quality comfortable feel. The Galaxy A9 will be available in selected markets from November.

For more information about the Galaxy A9, visit http://www.samsungmobilepress.comnews.samsung.com/galaxy or http://www.samsung.com/galaxy

Samsung Galaxy A9 Product Specifications

	Galaxy A9
Display	6.3” Full HD+ Super AMOLED, 1080×2220 *Screen measured diagonally as a full rectangle without accounting for the rounded corners
Camera	Rear: quad camera – Main Camera : 24MP AF, F1.7 – Telephoto : 2X optical zoom, 10MP AF, F2.4 – Ultra Wide : 120°, 8MP, F2.4 – Depth : 5MP, F2.2 Front: 24MP, F2.0
Body	162.5 x 77 x 7.8 mm, 183g
AP	Octa Core (2.2GHz Quad + 1.8GHz Quad)
Memory[5]	6GB RAM,128GB +MicroSD Slot(up to 512GB) 8GB RAM,128GB +MicroSD Slot(up to 512GB)* *May differ by market and mobile operator *User memory is less than the total memory due to storage of the operating system and software used to operate the device features. Actual user memory will vary depending on the operator and may change after software upgrades are performed
Battery	3,800mAh (typical) *Typical value tested under third-party laboratory condition. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 3,720 mAh. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.
OS	Android 8.0 (Oreo)
Network	3CA, LTE Cat.9
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MIMO,  Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS,  Galileo*, Glonass, BeiDou*) *Galileo and BeiDou coverage may be limited.
Payment	Samsung Pay (NFC)* *The availability may vary by country, device, feature, card issuer and merchant
Sensor	Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, Proximity Sensor, RGB Light Sensor
Audio	MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA
Video	MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

*All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided in this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice.

[1] Typical value tested under third-party laboratory condition. Typical value is the estimated average value considering the deviation in battery capacity among the battery samples tested under IEC 61960 standard. Rated (minimum) capacity is 3,720 mAh. Actual battery life may vary depending on network environment, usage patterns and other factors.

[2]Availability of Bixby services may vary by market and Bixby voice only supports Bixby 1.0.

[3]Availability of Service may vary by country

[4]Available colors may vary depending on country

[5]Actual storage availability may vary depending on pre-installed software