tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19731625589069060332024-02-01T20:12:20.975-08:00CompetitivenessThe blog discusses issues relevent to Pakistan's competitiveness and the Global Competitiveness Indicators of the World Economic Forum.AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-60503033938571149452021-08-05T00:52:00.004-07:002021-08-05T00:52:38.856-07:00New Skills Required in the New Era – Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum.<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 48px;"><b>New Skills Required in the New Era – Future of Jobs Report, World Economic Forum</b>.</span></p><h1 style="background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(191, 191, 191); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 48px; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 20px 0px 30px;"><a href="https://img.einpresswire.com/large/212676/emerging-and-redundant-jobs-p.png#730x1150" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img height="300" src="https://img.einpresswire.com/medium/212676/emerging-and-redundant-jobs-p.png" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="190" /></a></h1><div class="article_column imported" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px; max-width: 860px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 320px);"><div class="pr_images_column" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: 1px solid rgb(225, 225, 225); box-sizing: border-box; float: right; margin: 0px 0px 15px 15px; padding: 5px;"><div class="pr_image" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 300px; padding: 0px;">Emerging and Redundant Jobs - Pakistan</p></div><div class="pr_image" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://img.einpresswire.com/large/212678/emerging-skills-for-pakistan.png#788x814" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img height="300" src="https://img.einpresswire.com/medium/212678/emerging-skills-for-pakistan.png" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="290" /></a><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 300px; padding: 0px;">Emerging Skills for Pakistan</p></div><div class="pr_image" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://img.einpresswire.com/large/212683/current-skills-in-focus-of-exis.png#1384x1236" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><img height="267" src="https://img.einpresswire.com/medium/212683/current-skills-in-focus-of-exis.png" style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="300" /></a><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1em; max-width: 300px; padding: 0px;">Current skills in focus of existing reskilling/upskilling programmes</p></div></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></i></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 18.4px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Skills through online knowledge platform, opportunity for tech enthusiasts to capture global business prospects. Extreme Commerce launches 150+ skills platform</i></p><div class="pr_quote_positioner" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; height: 27em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 0px;"></div><div class="pr_quote" style="background: url("//www.einpresswire.com/images/quote_136.png") left top no-repeat transparent; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; float: left; font-size: 1.1em; margin: 20px 10px 20px 0px; max-width: 300px; padding: 25px 10px 10px 25px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">the Future of Technology is more mobile and personal”</b><div style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">— Future of Jobs Report</div></div>ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN, August 5, 2021 /<a dir="auto" href="http://www.einpresswire.com/" rel="nofollow external" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">EINPresswire.com</a>/ -- World Economic Forum in its <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2020" rel="external nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Future of Jobs</a> Report identifies new skill sets required in the post pandemic economic recovery for Pakistan. Digital Skills are the key to harness market appropriate opportunities.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Developing and enhancing human skills and capabilities through education, learning and meaningful work are key drivers of economic success, of individual well-being and societal cohesion. The global shift to a future of work is defined by an ever-expanding cohort of new technologies, by new sectors and markets, by global economic systems that are more </div><div class="article_column imported" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.8; margin: 0px; max-width: 860px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 320px);">interconnected than in any other point in history, and by information that travels fast and spreads wide. Yet the past decade of technological advancement has also brought about the looming possibility of mass job displacement, untenable skills shortages and a competing claim to the unique nature of human intelligence now challenged by artificial intelligence. The coming decade will require purposeful leadership to arrive at a future of work that fulfils human potential and creates broadly shared prosperity.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><a href="http://ec.com.pk/" rel="external nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Extreme Commerce</a>, Pakistan’s foremost institution working to grow in the arena of E-commerce and digital skills, while creating a learning platform for the “Jobs of Tomorrow”, Extreme Commerce has created interactive learning tools for the new generation of Entrepreneurs and Freelancers. As Pakistan’s foremost EdTech with a focus on e-commerce and digital skills, it aims to bring innovation and quality along with tech, altogether under the same roof and ultimately make Pakistan the hub for Tech practitioners.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Pakistan has been ranked as the 4th fastest growing markets in the world for freelancers, Pakistan is among the top five countries in the world when it comes to freelancing and generates a significant calculated amount of $0.5 billion entirely from freelancing.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Pakistan’s e-commerce industry grew tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is amongst the fastest growth globally. The progressively evolving entrepreneurs in the ecommerce industry are breaking the barriers of feudal mindset. The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum also signifies that new knowledge capital around jobs on Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence and Deep Data Mining and Analysis are key to foster economic progress.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Extreme Commerce pursues to be the fulcrum of opportunity and potential via providing extension in income streams by making sales on international and national E-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, Shopify, Fiverr, Upwork, etc. with an aim to infuse $1 billion for each annum into the local economy.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />To meet the global skills gap with Pakistani experts, Extreme Commerce has expanded its digital learning platform with (<a href="https://ec.com.pk/vbc" rel="external nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #014880; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Video Boot Camp</a>) VBC 150+. The organization has introduced more e-commerce and freelancing learning opportunities, with its Video Boot Camp revamped and enhanced to 50 additional courses to master the new challenges and opportunities.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Video Boot Camp 100 had an extensive range of e-commerce skills that enabled students to obtain sellable skills. But now the additional 150+ courses are designed to provide team building skills, soft skills, marketing, managerial and communication skills. With 50 additional courses comprised of ecommerce and digital skills & 60+ Zameen interviews, Extreme commerce is trying to make 2021 a remarkable year for big changes in the ecommerce industry of Pakistan.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Language has always been a barrier to entry for skill development. However, the extensive line of courses has been upgraded with SIX additional languages which will now help break past language obstructions. It has opened doors for fresh freelancers by providing them a detailed course on Fiverr and Upwork.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The VBC 150+ has stood out by introducing medical freelancing which is the newest addition to VBC. This offers a range of courses for health and fitness enthusiasts, nutritionists and practicing medical students. Understanding data analysis on medical related platforms is one of the most demanding skill globally. Human wellbeing has been identified as one of the major challenges for humanity in the COVID-19 pandemic, where the medical data has opened new prospects for information technology evangelists. Creating new pathways for emerging technologies to benefit the society at large.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The new paradigm of algorithms has automated businesses and can impact the job markets greatly, however this has created opportunities for freelancers to generate new models for business development and service delivery. The VBC has introduced a revamped program of digital marketing and multimedia as well which offers a new spectrum of skills. In Digital marketing there’s Lead generation, Chatbot & Many chat kind of courses which helps and guides all Entrepreneurs, Freelancers, Digital Marketers in general.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />As the Future of Jobs Report identifies the Future of Technology is more mobile and personal, Extreme Commerce has launched the Video Boot Camp on mobile App and Play stores. The New VBC mobile app is ready to roll out with 150 courses and 60 Zameen on Android and iOS. The new 150+ courses are income generating streams that are to rewrite the fate of Pakistan’s economy. This will not only boost the economy but also reduce the unemployment rate.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 750,000 members to date and with over 100+ courses and income streams to choose from. We estimate that by 2025, our community will be 1 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Mishal Pakistan and Extreme Commerce are working jointly to improve the awareness on the skills required for the “Jobs of Tomorrow”. Mishal Pakistan is the country Partner Institute of the New Economy and Societies Platforms, World Economic Forum.</div>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-18457599700037514332021-07-09T05:00:00.000-07:002021-07-09T05:00:00.691-07:00UK-Pakistan Academic Partnership to Strengthen Research and Development in Emerging Technologies.<p> <b style="color: #333333; font-size: 48px;">First Centre of Emerging Technologies in Private Sector to be Established with UK-Pakistan Partnership.</b></p><div><h3><span style="font-size: medium;"><i style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>UK-Pakistan Academic Partnership to Strengthen Research and Development in Emerging Technologies - Mike Nithavrianakis, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan</b></i><b style="color: #500050; font-family: Cambria, serif;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype", serif;"> </span></i></b></span></h3><div style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 27.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Internet age and its usage, new technologies that are currently being developed or will be developed within the next five to ten years are referred to as emerging technologies. Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) and British Computing Society/AccrediNation are jointly establishing Pakistan’s first Centre for Emerging Technologies in Pakistan. The agreement to cement this partnership was signed by both organizations today in Karachi.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 27.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 27.25pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01fMftfegi19pQjqU6cKaajSkIfR8ngz9R6BkMTaTCIGqk7wCDl7QaEcD5XmWB-6gECQmcnDyQLS6PqRvJfSi5JpPN9aka7Blhf7rEzMCAxn8_P-mAFalqUbl6kqt3W6ohr0_HQlyb_8/s2048/Center+for+Emerging+Technologies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg01fMftfegi19pQjqU6cKaajSkIfR8ngz9R6BkMTaTCIGqk7wCDl7QaEcD5XmWB-6gECQmcnDyQLS6PqRvJfSi5JpPN9aka7Blhf7rEzMCAxn8_P-mAFalqUbl6kqt3W6ohr0_HQlyb_8/w640-h427/Center+for+Emerging+Technologies.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US">The partnership was signed by the Founder and Managing Partner AccrediNation (in country partner organization for British Computing Society), Asad Aamir Ansari and Head of Institution (ECMCC), Abdul Hafeez Malik. His Excellency Mike Nithavrianakis, Britain’s Deputy High Commissioner and Trade Director for Pakistan was the Guest of Honour and witnessed the partnership signing along with leading corporates from the tech industry.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi and Trade Director for Pakistan Mike Nithavrianakis attended and congratulated the institutions involved in agreeing on this partnership, which he hopes will flourish and lead to excellence in the area of emerging technologies”.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #202429;">The<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6pt;"> </span>world<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7pt;"> </span>has<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7pt;"> </span>seen<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.65pt;"> </span>technological<span style="letter-spacing: 0.65pt;"> </span>revolution<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7pt;"> </span>since<span style="letter-spacing: 0.65pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6pt;"> </span>advent<span style="letter-spacing: 0.6pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.7pt;"> </span>the internet, Sunny<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Ali, Founder<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Extreme<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Commerce<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>his<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>message said,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Pakistan<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>has lacked<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Centre for<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Emerging Technologies. Although there have been efforts in the public sector. We are proud to take<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>this lead in Pakistan to launch a private sector driven initiative. He further said, this partnership<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>will<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>set<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>new<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>benchmarks<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>training<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>a<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>new<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>breed<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: -0.3pt;"> </span>human<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>resource<span style="letter-spacing: -0.15pt;"> </span>in<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: -0.2pt;"> </span>country that<span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt;"> </span>can<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>provide leadership for the industry and business community alike for the emerging technologies for global<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>challenges.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #202429;"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #202429;">Asad<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Aamir<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Ansari,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> Founder and </span>Managing<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Partner<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>for </span><span lang="EN-US">AccrediNation <span style="color: #202429;">said,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence can be used in many different industries,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>including IT, medicine, finance, and more. These technologies are making our daily usage devices smarter,<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>providing deeper, more </span></span>valuable insight into data and making cloud-based tools more efficient. In<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>terms of impact, these technologies have the power to change the way we deploy, engage, and make use<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"> </span>technology<span style="letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"> </span>at<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;"> </span>all<span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;"> </span>levels.<br /><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #202429;"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #202429;">CEO MagnaCarta College Ejaz Chaudhry said ‘The IT certifications by BCS UK will increase the employability and freelance opportunities for our youth in the global arena. In today's ever-changing and competitive market, IT professionals need knowledge, expertise and practical skills that are internationally recognised and industry relevant.’<br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US">For a technology to be classified as emerging, it is characterized by rapid growth, impact, radical novelty, coherence, and, sometimes, uncertainty and ambiguity. These include but are not limited to Artificial intelligence (AI), Gene therapy, 3D printing, Nanotechnology, Cancer vaccines, In vitro meat, Medical field advancements, Robotics, Stem-cell therapy, Distributed ledger technology and other Technologies related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Each of these emerging technologies has the potential to create a significant competitive advantage for businesses in the near future.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 17.6333px;"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US">The event was attended by business leaders, technology enthusiasts, leading entrepreneurs, civil<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>society<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"> </span>leaders<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"> </span>including Raza Ahmed Sukhera, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black;">Joint Director Policy & Sector Growth at Ministry of IT and Telecom, Dr. Shahid Mahmud, Group CEO and Chairman Interactive Group of Companies.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US">AccrediNation chartered by the British Computing Society (BCS) has over a decade of experience in IT Services, Training, Transformation, Consulting and Outsourcing. The BCS is the only professional body in the United Kingdom with the ability to grant chartered status to IT professionals under its Royal Charter, granted to them by the Privy Council. Thus, having the ability to grant Chartered (Professional</span><span lang="EN-US">) status to both its Fellows and Professional members. Known as Chartered IT<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Professional. AccrediNation has built strong relationships with International Chambers of<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Commerce, British High Commissions/Embassies, Federal & Provincial Governments and<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Corporate<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;"> </span>Sectors<span style="letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"> </span>across<span style="letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"> </span>the<span style="letter-spacing: 0.15pt;"> </span>world.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 27.25pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #500050; font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0cm 0cm 0cm 27.25pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pngFqa4if2Kcn3FKvfl3jZ8A2WVnu8ZxmCPcjv3WQ2CFdgZ8Tq48TZINk6serwLRhc6XFWOMV9UhO_G3flTCq-8lELJrPEzEE25x358pS_6D6_YU2rnLWvNsrd5-yQqnjs4VLFTj5CE/s2048/ECMCC+and+AN+Establishing+Center+for+Emerging+Technologies+.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="2048" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3pngFqa4if2Kcn3FKvfl3jZ8A2WVnu8ZxmCPcjv3WQ2CFdgZ8Tq48TZINk6serwLRhc6XFWOMV9UhO_G3flTCq-8lELJrPEzEE25x358pS_6D6_YU2rnLWvNsrd5-yQqnjs4VLFTj5CE/w640-h384/ECMCC+and+AN+Establishing+Center+for+Emerging+Technologies+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US">Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) is Pakistan’s first entrepreneurial higher<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>education institute that came into being as a joint venture between Extreme Commerce and Magna<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>Carta College, Oxford’s Independent Business School. The purpose of ECMCC as a futuristic<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span>scholastic and incubation hub, is to build and disseminate a full spectrum of affordable pre-<span style="letter-spacing: 0.05pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">university</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.55pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">to</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.55pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">post-graduate</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.6pt;"> </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">competency</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.5pt;"> </span>and<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6pt;"> </span>research-based<span style="letter-spacing: -0.55pt;"> </span>learning,<span style="letter-spacing: -0.6pt;"> </span>complemented<span style="letter-spacing: -0.55pt;"> </span>by<span style="letter-spacing: -0.55pt;"> </span>world-class,<span style="letter-spacing: -2.45pt;"> </span>international<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"> </span>qualifications.<br /></span><span lang="EN-US"> <br /></span><span lang="EN-US">For<span style="letter-spacing: 0.65pt;"> </span>more<span style="letter-spacing: 0.75pt;"> </span>information<span style="letter-spacing: 0.9pt;"> </span>please<span style="letter-spacing: 0.75pt;"> </span>visit:<span style="letter-spacing: 1pt;"> </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.ecmcc.org/&source=gmail&ust=1625913987185000&usg=AFQjCNFUfct-6ytIIbe6GBab-idD3iLMHg" href="http://www.ecmcc.org/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4471c4;">www.ecmcc.org</span></a></span></div></div>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Tariq Rd, Karachi, Karachi City, Sindh, Pakistan24.8726789 67.0605643-32.467356483532129 -73.5644357 82.212714283532137 -152.3144357tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-61883472937499057072021-06-24T04:41:00.005-07:002021-06-24T05:54:26.915-07:005 Million Micro-Entrepreneurs to Benefit from Ecommerce and Digital Skills.<p> </p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills.</h3><div class="post-header" style="font-size: 10.8px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em;"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3512031186221469231" itemprop="articleBody" style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 740px;"><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 48px; letter-spacing: 0px;"><b>5 Million Micro-Entrepreneurs to Benefit from Ecommerce and Digital Skills.</b></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 16.1px; letter-spacing: 0.56px; margin: 0px 0px 1em;"><i style="box-sizing: border-box;">Extreme Commerce and Dukan.pk collaborate to empower people to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills.</i></p><div class="pr_quote_positioner" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; float: left; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 20em; letter-spacing: 0.56px; width: 0px;"></div><div class="pr_quote" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url("//www.einpresswire.com/images/quote_136.png"); background-origin: initial; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: #212121; float: left; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 1.1em; letter-spacing: 0.56px; margin: 20px 10px 20px 0px; max-width: 300px; padding: 25px 10px 10px 25px;"><b style="box-sizing: border-box;">It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space. ”</b><div style="box-sizing: border-box; float: right; font-style: italic;">— Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce</div></div><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">82.20% enterprises in Pakistan are facing a cash flow shortage in the COVID-19 period. This puts a serious challenge for starting a business in Pakistan. Although Pakistan ranks at 72 among 190 countries on starting a business on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Report 2020, the new dynamics demand a new approach for the micro, small and medium enterprises.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">This gap has been filled by the two leading enterprises in Pakistan by joining hands, with a common goal of empowering the people of Pakistan to achieve self-sufficiency through e-commerce and digital skills, </span><a href="http://dukan.pk/" rel="external nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #cc6611; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Dukan</a><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">.pk has partnered with </span><a href="http://ec.com.pk/" rel="external nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #cc6611; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Extreme Commerce</a><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;"> to help local businesses sell online. Extreme Commerce is the largest online selling community of Pakistan with approximately 700,000 members. It has trained and helped thousands of people to sell online in the ecommerce platform and generate over $100 million in sales through Amazon, eBay, and other platforms.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">The partnership will look into the possibilities to capacitate businesses for online payments as well. 72.29% enterprises in Pakistan reported cash as the major payment method. 59.74% Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in Pakistan reported bank transfer method, 24.24% used personal cheque to make payments, 22.08% online payment method, 13.85% debit or credit cards, 6.49% money orders, and 4.33% used mobile payment methods. The government plans to digitize cash on delivery (CoD) payments above PKR 10000 by the year 2022, and all CoD payments will be replaced with online payments by the year 2029.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">Extreme Commerce’s Founder and CEO, Sunny Ali said, “It is heartening to see the emergence of local platforms like Dukan.pk to help sellers reach their customers. We are proud to partner with the leader in this space.” He further said, “this partnership will allow anyone with a smartphone to gain e-commerce selling skills and equip them with easy-to-use technology, enabling web store creation, online payments, and delivery management.”</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">There are currently over 5 Million micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan that are eager to join the e-commerce revolution but lack the technical know-how.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8FGc-nkyl17hfSf5uDuc3uw3hROZtQbHV78ftXrhQIAf5FhKdOmucYYlTFPiZP6808rqjtGwChfoQhahGBt47-ckzbzepS04T3Z7YPLvr8jRbZPRd8blqg5Ldkwfc1lDVBUqd_Q2vRg/s1644/EC+and+Dukan.png" style="color: #cc6611; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1644" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8FGc-nkyl17hfSf5uDuc3uw3hROZtQbHV78ftXrhQIAf5FhKdOmucYYlTFPiZP6808rqjtGwChfoQhahGBt47-ckzbzepS04T3Z7YPLvr8jRbZPRd8blqg5Ldkwfc1lDVBUqd_Q2vRg/w640-h370/EC+and+Dukan.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">Monis Rahman, founder and CEO of Dukan.pk, while reiterating his commitment to uplift small local businesses said, “Dukan’s mission is to let anyone with a smartphone sell online in under one minute. Our partnership with Extreme Commerce will help accelerate this mission by complementing our platform with high quality e-commerce training for local sellers.”</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">Pakistan has an approx. 3.2 million SMEs. SMEs constitute nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan; employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force; and their share in the annual GDP is 40%, approximately. However, unlike large enterprises in the formal sector, a small and medium enterprise is constrained by financial and other resources. This inherent characteristic of an SME makes it imperative that there should be a mechanism through which it may get support in different functions of business including technical upgradation, marketing, financial and human resource training & development.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">To build a knowledge platform that can enable new thinking and innovation for the SME E Commerce approach, Extreme Commerce has already signed an agreement with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) as well. Extreme Commerce is also working with academic and research institutions across Pakistan and beyond.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">Dukan.pk is a new revolutionary and free of cost E-Commerce App. Through this each store will get its own personalized URL. There are 9 different payment methods with hassle-free stock purchase, sales report, inventory management and order history. Led by a team of industry veterans, Dukan has been able to create over 65,000 online stores, growing 350% monthly by average. It provides local sellers with a free, easy, and effective platform to set up their web stores and sell online.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #212121; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;" /><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;">Extreme Commerce is Pakistan’s first EdTech start up with a sole focus on skills development and capacity building within the ecommerce and digital arena. Founded in 2017, it is the largest community of its kind in Pakistan, with well over 735,000 members to date and with over 100+ courses and income streams to choose from. We estimate that by 2025, our community will be 1 million strong, generating well over $1 billion in inward remittance for Pakistan.</span></div><div><span face="Montserrat, sans-serif" style="color: #212121; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: 0.56px;"><br /></span></div></div>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-70505098094757491842019-10-09T06:52:00.000-07:002019-10-09T06:52:19.019-07:00Pakistan slips 3 ranks on the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum, secures 110 position among 141 countries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Pakistan slips 3 ranks on the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum, secures 110 position among 141 countries</h2>
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<li style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Islamabad, PK – 09 October 2019 -<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75); font-family: "Source Serif Pro", serif;"> The World Economic Forum released the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 today. The Report has adopted a new methodology for measuring Competitiveness 4.0. by including indices which represents more knowledge and digital-based ecosystems. The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 4.0 provides a detailed map of the factors and attributes that drive productivity, growth and human development in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The 2019 edition covers 141 economies, which account for 99% of the world’s GDP.</span></li>
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The World Economic Forum defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. Countries can improve their investment potentials by improving their competitiveness rankings. The Global Competitiveness Report, which in 2018 used a brand new methodology to fully capture the dynamics of the global economy in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, many of the factors that will have the greatest impact in driving competitiveness in the future have never been the focus of major policy decisions in the past. These include idea generation, entrepreneurial culture, openness, and agility. The new tool maps the competitiveness landscape of 141 economies through 103 indicators organized into 12 pillars.</div>
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<br />Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan and the Country Partner Institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum, said, “Pakistan needs to bridge the digital divide between citizens demand for governance and governments’ ability to deliver services through digital and e-governance platforms. The public policy agenda should have ICT adoption as one of the key drivers for transforming the economy to succeed in the fourth industrial revolution era.”</div>
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On the Competitiveness 4.0, Pakistan has been ranked at 110th among 141 economies, slipping three positions below from last year’s 107. Pakistan has been ranked 107 in Institutions as compared to 109 last year, It is ranked 105 in infrastructure against 93 in 2018, The ICT adoption has slipped to 131 from 127 from a year earlier. With a loss of 13 ranks the Macroeconomic stability at 116 has greatly impacted country’s competitiveness rankings, While the Health pillars at 115 in 2019 has slipped from 109 from last year. The Skills pillar has retained its position as last year at 125. Pakistan has also lost 4 ranks on the Product Market Pillar with global ranking on 126. Pakistan improved its labor market efficiency with one point by securing 120 rank among 141 economies. While the Financial Systems Pillar lost 10 ranks and rests at 99 this year, compared to 89 last years, the country improved its competitiveness advantage by securing an impressive 29 position compared to 31 in 2018. Pakistan showed its best performance on the business dynamism by improving 15 points and securing 52 among 141 economies. This gain was due to Pakistan’s improvements on time to start a business where, it improves several ranks. The country scored 79 on the innovation capability pillar compared to 75 in 2018.<br /></div>
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In South Asia, India, in 68th position, loses ground in the rankings despite a relatively stable score, mostly due to faster improvements of several countries previously ranked lower. It is followed by Sri Lanka (the most improved country in the region at 84th), Bangladesh (105th), Nepal (108th) and Pakistan (110th).<br />The Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 provides a compass for thriving in the new economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In the present context of economic uncertainty, trade tensions, and social and environmental challenges, it is even more critical that policymakers use the comprehensive tools of competitiveness to put the world economy on a path of growing productivity, inclusion and sustainability. The report shows this win-win-win combination is possible, but we will need bolder, visionary leadership and multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve it,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.<br /></div>
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“What is of greatest concern today is the reduced ability of governments and central banks to use monetary policy to stimulate economic growth. This makes it all the more important that competitiveness-enhancing polices are adopted that are able to boost productivity, encourage social mobility and reduce income inequality,” said Saadia Zahidi, Head of the Centre for the New Economy and Society at the World Economic Forum.<br /></div>
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The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 highlights the fragile economic foundations of several least developed and emerging economies, making them highly vulnerable to shocks. With extreme poverty reduction decelerating and nearly half of humanity still struggling to meet basic needs, the report is a reminder of the need for sustained, productivity-enhancing economic growth remaining critical for improved living standards.<br /></div>
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It has also become evident that policymakers face a choice when it comes to setting the right direction for growth through the “quality” of policies and public investments to proactively address challenges such as inequality, climate change and technological divides. The perceived trade-offs between economic, social and environmental factors may emerge from a short-term and narrow view of growth but can be mitigated by adopting a holistic and longer-term approach to sustainable development.<br /></div>
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Singapore is the world’s most competitive economy in 2019, overtaking the United States, which falls to second place. Hong Kong SAR (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Switzerland (5th) round up the top five. The average across the 141 economies covered is 61 points, almost 40 points to the frontier. This global competitiveness gap is of even more concern as the global economy faces the prospect of a downturn. The changing geopolitical context and rising trade tensions are fuelling uncertainty and could precipitate a slowdown. However, some of this year’s better performers in the GCI appear to be benefiting from the trade feud through trade diversion, including Singapore (1st) and Viet Nam (67th), the most improved country in this year’s Index.<br /></div>
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The Report is a reminder to national policymakers to apply a holistic approach and better balance short-term considerations against factors whose impact is felt beyond quarterly results and election cycles. For example, the results of the index show that labour and education policies have not been keeping up with the pace of innovation in most countries, including in some of the largest and most innovative economies. Governments must better anticipate the unintended consequences of technological integration and implement complementary social policies that support populations through the Fourth Industrial Revolution.<br /></div>
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Building on four decades of experience in benchmarking competitiveness, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 is a composite indicator that assesses the set of factors that determine an economy’s level of productivity – widely considered as the most important determinant of long-term growth. The GCI 4.0 framework is built around 12 main drivers of productivity, or pillars: Institutions, Infrastructure; ICT adoption; Macroeconomic stability; Health; Skills; Product market; Labour market; Financial system; Market size; Business dynamism; and Innovation capability. It comprises 103 individual indicators distributed across the 12 pillars.<br /></div>
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The Global Competitiveness Report<em style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Georgia, "Source Serif Pro", serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </em>is a flagship publication of the World Economic Forum’s Platform for Shaping the Future of the New Economy and Society. The Platform provides the opportunity to advancing prosperous, inclusive and equitable economies and societies. It focuses on co-creating a new vision in three interconnected areas: growth and competitiveness; education, skills and work; and equality and inclusion. Working together, stakeholders deepen their understanding of complex issues, shape new models and standards and drive scalable, collaborative action for systemic change.<br /></div>
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Over 100 of the world’s leading companies and 100 international, civil society and academic organizations currently work through the Platform to promote new approaches to competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution economy; deploy education and skills for tomorrow’s workforce; build a new pro-worker and pro-business agenda for jobs; and integrate equality and inclusion into the new economy, aiming to reach 1 billion people with improved economic opportunities.<br /></div>
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Mishal Pakistan is Pakistan’s leading strategic communication and design company. It is also the country Partner Institute of the Future of Economic Progress System Initiative, World Economic Forum. Mishal is responsible to generate primary data on more than 100 indicators measuring Pakistan’s competitiveness. Mishal’s foremost domain of activity is behavior change communication, strategic communication with a spotlight on media and perception management.</div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan33.6844202 73.0478848000000233.261279699999996 72.402437800000015 34.1075607 73.693331800000024tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-76578397582892032017-09-27T00:00:00.000-07:002017-09-27T00:00:24.016-07:00Pakistan Shows Impressive Improvements on Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 Ranks Pakistan at 115 Among 137 Countries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 24pt;">Pakistan at 115, Improves Seven Ranks on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018</span></h3>
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<em style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Pakistan improves seven ranks on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. For the ninth consecutive year, Switzerland ranks as the most competitive economy in the world, United States and Singapore ranks at second and third respectively.</em></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Pakistans-Performance-on-Global-Competitiveness-Index-2017-2018-of-World-Economic-Forum-27-09-2017-.pdf">Pakistan's Performance on Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 of World Economic Forum - 27-09-2017</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><strong>Islamabad/Geneva, Switzerland, 27 September 2017 </strong>– Pakistan has shown impressive performance and extraordinary recovery on key competitiveness indicators. The country has been successful in strengthening and improving its institutions and macroeconomic framework, showing stability and improvements to its global competitiveness footing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving countries’ productivity and prosperity. the World Economic Forum </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawing on data going back 10 years, the report highlights in particular three areas of greatest concern. These include the financial system, where levels of “soundness” have yet to recover from the shock of 2007 and in some parts of the world are declining further. This is especially of concern given the important role the financial system will need to play in facilitating investment in innovation related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EfZAuBHX3eVjOWEAMJhW2V96pcDTsjkighebqLczr_xex1G-cOE42OeN6cRPKDF0kyXo_57TkKrtcBd7ZeZECw1FuzgNOTDxX_mhM4xhz7bZJJoYQWCYsI_t-ct9kGj7LBWUX8Hi2ao/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-26+at+2.54.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="440" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6EfZAuBHX3eVjOWEAMJhW2V96pcDTsjkighebqLczr_xex1G-cOE42OeN6cRPKDF0kyXo_57TkKrtcBd7ZeZECw1FuzgNOTDxX_mhM4xhz7bZJJoYQWCYsI_t-ct9kGj7LBWUX8Hi2ao/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-26+at+2.54.03+PM.png" width="194" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pakistan’s ranking at 115 is measured by the twelve pillars of Competitiveness. On the institutions pillar, Pakistan improved 21 ranks and stands at 90 from 111 last year. Infrastructure improved from 116 to 110, on the Macroeconomic Stability Pillar Pakistan improved 10 ranks and stands at 106.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On other pillars, among 137 countries, Pakistan ranks at Health and Primary Education 129, losing one rank from last year, Higher Education and Training improved from 123 to 120, Goods Market Efficiency 107, Labour Market Efficiency 128, Financial Market Development jumped from 107 to 96, Technological Readiness 111. Maintaining the regional competitiveness edge Pakistan ranks at 28 on the pillar of Market Size. Also showing sustained improvements on Bus</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">iness Sophistication the rank changed from 95 last year to 81 in 2017, while on the Innovation pillar an impressive improvement of 15 points now places Pakistan at 60 rank on the global competitiveness index.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness andBenchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum said, “Pakistan is classified as a factor driven economy, which primarily depends on improving its institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education indicators. Pakistan has managed to resist the global crisis and has shown resilience for economic recovery. Globally countries that are competitive have shown resilience to crisis. However, the reforms agenda still remains an unfinished business”. He further said, “this year the Report also shows performance of the political government and its ability and understanding to address the competitiveness challenges.” He also said, “the country needs to concentrate on its primary health and education to benefit from the demographic dividend it offers”. With the convergence of data and policy, Pakistan has huge potential to make an impact of globally policy making for sustainable development initiatives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year among 114 global competitiveness indicators, Pakistan showed improvements on 82 key indices, whereas on 20 indices the country lost its previous position. While on 12 indices Pakistan, retained its position as last year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Competitiveness has improved across most countries in South Asia, in particular in the two Himalayan countries of Bhutan (82nd, up 15) and Nepal (88th, up 10). On a similarly positive trend, Pakistan (115th, up seven) and Bangladesh (99th, up seven) have both improved their scores across all pillars of competitiveness. Both India (40</span><sup style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, down one) and Sri Lanka (85</span><sup style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, down 14 ranks) had corruption and inefficient government bureaucracy as key factors for hindering progress. Upgrading ICT infrastructure and increasing ICT use remain among the biggest challenges for the region: over the past decade, South Asia has been the area where technological readiness stagnated the most.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The analysis from Mishal, the country partner institute for Pakistan also shows performance of some of the key regulatory bodies and other government institutions, which have shown progress as well. Among 138 countries the institutions are ranked as following: Intellectual Property Organization (97), Judicial Independence (80), Police Services (116), Auditor General of Pakistan Revenues (110), National Highways Authority (76), Pakistan Railways (52), Civil Aviation Authority (91), NEPRA (115), Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (116), National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (99), Competition Commission of Pakistan (70), Pakistan Customs (93), State Bank of Pakistan among other 138 Central Banks at (89), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan at (91) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (135).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018 also identifies Corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business in Pakistan, followed by tax rates, government instability/coups and crime and thefts.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To improve the soft-data on Pakistan, the World Economic Forum worked closely with Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of WEF. This year a total of 526 respondents from the business community were reached out through the annual Executive Opinion Survey, whereas 236 were selected from last year and 290 from this year. The World Economic Forum reached out to more than 12,000 business leaders globally. This year Pakistan had the third largest sample size in the world after China and Mexico.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Global competitiveness will be more and more defined by the innovative capacity of a country. Talents will become increasingly more important than capital and therefore the world is moving from the age of capitalism into the age of talentism. Countries preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and simultaneously strengthening their political, economic and social systems will be the winners in the competitive race of the future,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another key finding is that competitiveness is enhanced, not weakened, by combining degrees of flexibility within the labour force with adequate protection of workers’ rights. With vast numbers of jobs set to be disrupted as a result of automation and robotization, creating conditions that can withstand economic shock and support workers through transition periods will be vital.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Report states that, “Despite positive development, leaders are facing major predicaments when it comes to economic policy. Uneven distribution of the benefits of economic progress, generational divides, rising income inequality in advanced economies, and increasing environmental degradation have heightened the sense that the economic policies of past years have not served citizens or society well. Coupled with growth rates that remain below historical levels, these quandaries put many prevalent models of economic growth and related policies into question. Major technological disruption and the new fault lines emerging in the global economic and political order add further uncertainty about the types of policies that will make economies future-proof. Taken together, all of these factors are challenging decision makers to find new approaches and policies to advance economic progress.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The report also highlights on why quantitative easing and other monetary policy measures have been insufficient in reigniting long-term growth for the world’s advanced economies. The report finds that interventions by economies with comparatively low GCI scores failed to generate the same effect as those performed in economies with high scores, suggesting that strong underlying competitiveness is a key requirement for successful monetary stimulus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The report offers insight into how priorities may be shifting for nations in earlier stages of development. While basic drivers of competitiveness such as infrastructure, health, education and well-functioning markets will always be important, data in the GCI suggests that a nation’s performance in terms of technological readiness, business sophistication and innovation is now as important in driving competitiveness and growth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>The Global Competitiveness Report</em>’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2005. The 12 pillars of Competitiveness are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Key Findings:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">TEN YEARS AFTER THE CRISIS, THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IS STILL VULNERABLE </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">MORE COUNTRIES ARE ABLE TO INNOVATE, BUT THEY MUST DO MORE TO SPREAD THE BENEFITS</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">THERE NEED BE NO TRADE-OFF BETWEEN LABOR MARKET FLEXIBILITY AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Access full report, infographics, videos and more visit: <a href="http://www.weforum.org/" style="text-align: justify;">weforum.org</a></span></li>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Geneva, Switzerland46.2043907 6.143157699999960646.1164762 5.9817961999999607 46.292305199999994 6.3045191999999606tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-10683145521149016702016-12-12T08:40:00.001-08:002016-12-12T08:40:35.240-08:00AGAHI AWARDS Celebrates Journalism Integrity - First Journalism Awards on Competitiveness Reporting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt;">AGAHI AWARDS</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 20pt;"> Celebrates Journalism Integrity - First Journalism Awards on Competitiveness Reporting</span></strong></h2>
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<strong><span style="color: #0000b8; font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pakistan’s most credible journalists recognized for their work at the annual AGAHI Awards in more than 40 categories.</span></span></strong></h3>
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<li><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">ARY News Wins the Favorite News Channel of the Year, </span></span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">Waseem Badami Favorite Current Affairs Anchor (male),</span></span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">Aysha Buksh Favorite Current Affairs Anchor (female) for 2016 in the People’s Choice categories. </span></span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: large;">Naseem Zehra of Channel 24 recognized as the Most Credible Anchor of the Year 2016. </span></span></strong></li>
<li><strong style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Arshad Sharif and Adeel Raja “AGAHI Awards Investigative Journalists of the Year.</span></span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large; text-align: left;">”</span></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Winners of the AGAHI Awards 2016 with the Guests of Honors</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Islamabad, PK – 10 December 2016: The efforts of journalists and media community are recognized every year through the AGAHI Awards. The AGAHI Awards acknowledges journalists’ professional commitment to promote accountability to safeguard public interest. Quality journalism heightens collective consciousness of a society that builds a nation’s identity and purpose. The best of the media industry striving for Ethical Journalism from all across Pakistan were recognized as Journalist of the Year in their respective categories today at the National Library of Pakistan, Islamabad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The ceremony was hosted by senior journalists, Mubashir Zaidi and Amber Shamsi. This year AGAHI Awards received more than 3500 nominations from all over the country in more than 35 different categories from print, television, radio and online media. The AGAHI Awards received an overwhelming response by the journalist community - where AGAHI Awards reached more than 6 million Pakistanis through social media and almost 1.5 million through SMS for the Peoples’ Choice Awards categories including “Favorite News Channel of the Year” and “Current Affairs Anchors of the Year” in Pakistan. For the first time in the region, the AGAHI Awards also deployed big data and sentiments analysis to measure the people's choice categories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Puruesh Chaudhary, President AGAHI and the co-founder of the AGAHI Awards while speaking to the participants said, “We can improve our way of thinking if we work together, the media can play an incredible role in helping the decision-makers identify people-centric challenges and opportunities thereby enabling them to opt for the right <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">choices. AGAHI Awards is a step in that direction.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">This is the first year the AGAHI Awards will include the special category ‘Eliminating Hidden Hunger & Malnutrition.’ Pakistan has one of the highest rates of stunting with nearly half of all children in Pakistan malnourished. With the support of the Australian Government and Mishal, the new category aims to encourage journalists to write more on this important issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Speaking at the awards ceremony, Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Margaret Adamson said the Australian Government was supporting the special category to encourage journalists to raise community awareness of such a critical issue through better informed reporting. “Australia's aid program is supporting a range of programs underway to improve nutrition and food security in Pakistan. I am confident this initiative will help build the capacity of journalists to effectively report on this issue and in turn inform the high priority by policy makers and legislators to implementing cross cutting measures, with supporting funding, to eliminate the urgent issue of malnutrition and hidden hunger in Pakistan,” Ms. Adamson said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Amir Jahangir, CEO Mishal Pakistan and co-founder, AGAH Awards, in his welcome address said, “For the first time in the history of journalism, the content and the knowledge creator is taking the lead. In this new ecosystem, the guardians of the infrastructure are becoming irrelevant. It’s the journalist, who is taking the center stage now”. He further said, “Journalists are the drivers of public discourse, shaping policies, their stories are becoming a vital link between the citizens and the state”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">AGAHI Awards recognizes “Credibility” as the key currency for public trust for the attention economy, where media becomes the platform to create social values and transparency. AGAHI Awards is the recognition of journalists who have shown personal integrity and professional excellence to make Pakistan a more informed nation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The AGAHI Awards 2016 Recognized the following “Journalists of the Year” in the following categories: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; text-indent: -18pt;">* Nasim Zehra (Most Credible Anchor of the Year), </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; text-indent: -18pt;">* Waseem Badami (Peoples' Choice Awards: Favorite Current Affairs Anchor – Male), </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; text-indent: -18pt;">* Ayesha Buksh (Peoples’ Choice Awards: Favorite Current Affairs Anchor – Female), </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; text-indent: -18pt;">* ARY News (Peoples’ Choice Awards: Favorite News Channel of the Year),</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; text-indent: -18pt;">* Arshad Sharif and Adeel Raja (Investigative Journalists of the Year),</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Javeria Siddique (Agriculture), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Naimat Khan (Anti-Corruption), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Adnan Aamir (Business & Economy), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Shafi Moosa Mansoori (Citizen Empowerment), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Shumaila Jaffery (Women Empowerment), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Sameer Saleem (Youth Empowerment), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Samiullah Randhawa (Climate Change), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Mubarek Zeb Khan (Competitiveness), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Irfan Haider & Sadia Qasim Shah (Conflict), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Shahzad (Corporate Social Responsibility), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Adil Aziz Khanzada (CPEC), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Shahzia Nisar (Creating Shared Value), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Zehra Nawab (Culture & Tourism), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Syed Muhammad Abubaker (Disasters and Catastrophe), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Naqeebullah Taran (Education), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Luqman (Eliminating Hidden Hunger), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Fazal Rahim Awan (Entrepreneurship), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Shahzad (Extremism and Terrorism), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Akbar Notezai (Foreign Policy), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Ahsan Raza (South Asia Bridge Initiative – SABI), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Akbar Notezai (Foresight and Futures), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Wali Zahid (Governance), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Shahid (Health), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Haroon Siraj (Human Rights), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Fariha Fatima (Infotainment), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Zeeshan Anwar (Innovation Journalism), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Hassan Bilal Zaidi (Information Communication Technology), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Khalid Khattak (Innovation), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Suhail Yusuf (Reporting On Science), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Imran Malik (Institutional Reforms), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Zaheer Uddin Babar (Journalism for Peace), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Atif Sheikh (Media Ethics), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Ihtisham ul Haq (Nutrition), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Zahid Gishkori (Open Government), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Sadia Seher (Photo Journalism - Print), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Hussain Afzal (Video Journalism Television), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Sheharyar Ali (Rule of Law), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Saeed Badshah (Sports), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Shehzad Ahmad (Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights - SRHR),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Syed Muhammad Abubakar (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Fazal Khaliq (Vocational Training & Technical Education),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Syed Muhammad Abubakar (Water Diplomacy), <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "symbol"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><img alt="*" height="8" src="file://localhost/Users/muneer2/Library/Group%20Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/msoclip1/01/clip_image001.png" width="7" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Muhammad Suhail Yusuf (Water, Energy & Food Security Nexus)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Inaugurated on March 28th, 2012, the AGAHI Awards are Pakistan’s first ever journalism awards recognizing the best journalists across print, television, radio and the internet on more than 40 different journalism thematic beats. AGAHI and Mishal Pakistan in collaboration with leading press clubs across the country, local and international media development bodies, regulatory authorities and the private sector organize these awards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The AGAHI Awards are the most sought after journalism recognition in Pakistan. The Awards have been the foremost development initiative for media and journalism in the country. The awards have identified some of the most talented and diligent journalists in the industry. The AGAHI Awards winners have now acquired decision-making and leadership position across the media industry for “Shaping the Future of Journalism” in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">The AGAHI Awards were co-founded by Mishal Pakistan and AGAHI. The evaluation methodology and selection criteria of the awards have been designed in collaboration with the Center for Internet and Media Ethics (CIME) and on the pillars of Media Development Indicators of UNESCO, with input from the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The Awards have been organized in collaboration with leading press clubs, local and international media development institutions, regulatory authorities, civil society organizations, private and public sector bodies and other stakeholders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Leading opinion makers, senior journalists, policy makers, diplomats, academicians, leading professionals from the media industry and representatives from think tanks attended the award ceremony. The AGAHI Awards have been the foremost media development initiative for media and journalism in the country. The awards have identified some of the most talented and diligent journalists in the industry. The AGAHI Awards winners have now acquired decision-making and leadership position across the media industry for “Shaping the Future of Journalism” in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Mishal Pakistan is the country partner Institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks at the World Economic Forum. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with key stakeholders in Pakistan to improve the state of media and competitiveness through good governance initiatives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">AGAHI is a not for profit working since 2011 to create non-paid communication strategies and strategic foresight. AGAHI encourages and advises individuals and institutions in pursuing and supporting initiatives to improve the state of development in Pakistan. It works on developmental frameworks facilitating information and knowledge sharing platforms on understanding challenges in global perspective. It’s research work mainly focuses on national and international security, ICT, human capital development, and governance.</span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-16746265938933683522016-10-26T03:00:00.000-07:002016-10-26T03:00:11.488-07:00Pakistan Ranks 143 Among 144 Countries on the Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong><span style="font-family: arial, 'helvetica neue', helvetica, sans-serif;">Pakistan Ranks 143 Among 144 Countries on the Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum.</span></strong></h2>
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<strong>Islamabad/Geneva - 26 October 2016 -</strong> The world is facing an acute misuse of talent by not acting faster to tackle gender inequality, which could put economic growth at risk and deprive economies of the opportunity to develop, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016, which is published today.<br /><br />The report is an annual benchmarking exercise that measures progress towards parity between men and women in four areas: Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, Economic Opportunity and Political Empowerment. In this latest edition, the report finds that progress towards parity in the key economic pillar has slowed dramatically with the gap – which stands at 59% – now larger than at any point since 2008.<br /><br />Iceland (1) takes the top spot for the eighth consecutive year, closing more than 87% of its overall gender gap. Followed by Finland at 2nd and Norway at the 3rd place. Nordic nations continue to rank among highest performing countries, but several developing and emerging markets have also made it into the top 20; the US falls to 45th<br /><br />Pakistan at (143) remains the region’s lowest-ranked country and second-to-last ranked overall. It records progress on closing the secondary education enrolment gender gap, and on women’s estimated earned income, but this is partly offset by reversals on wage equality and female-to-male literacy ratios.<br /><br />Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network, World Economic Forum said, “Pakistan remains one of the few countries in the world, which does not have female federal minister, whereas, there are only two state ministers at the centre”. He further said, “the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, each also have only one female minister in their cabinet. Balochistan remains with no female minister in its cabinet”. Jahangir further said, “Pakistan needs to concentrate more in creating enabling environment to bring its women leaders into decision making roles, both in the public as well as private sectors”.<br /><br />Pakistan’s scores on the Four Pillars of the Global Gender Gap Index has not improved much from last year. Both on the Economic Participation and Opportunity Pakistan Scores at (143) and Education Attainment (135) Pakistan has not changed from last year. On Health and Survival Pilar Pakistan has improved from 125 last year to 124 in 2016. However, on the Political Empowerment, Pakistan has been ranked at 90 as compared to 87 in 2015.</div>
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<tr><td style="height: 35px; width: 345px;"><strong>Pakistan's Performance on the Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 35px; width: 85px;"><strong>Rankings 2015</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 35px; width: 78px;"><strong>Rankings 2016</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 35px; width: 116px;"><strong>Change</strong></td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;"><strong>Economic participation and opportunity </strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;"><strong>143</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;"><strong>143</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">0</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Labour force participation</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">140</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">139</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-1</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Wage equality for similar work (survey)</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">88</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">114</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">26</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Estimated earned income (US$, PPP)</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">140</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">138</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-2</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Legislators, senior officials, and managers</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">124</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">122</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-2</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Professional and technical workers</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">122</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">119</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-3</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;"><strong>Educational attainment </strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;"><strong>135</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;"><strong>135</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">0</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Literacy rate</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">136</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">138</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">2</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Enrolment in primary education</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">134</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">127</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-7</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Enrolment in secondary education</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">124</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">134</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">10</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Enrolment in tertiary education</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">99</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">1</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-98<br /><em>methodology change</em></td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 7px; width: 345px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 7px; width: 85px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 7px; width: 78px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 7px; width: 116px;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;"><strong>Health and survival </strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;"><strong>125</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;"><strong>124</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-1</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Sex ratio at birth</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">1</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">1</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">0</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Healthy life expectancy</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">131</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">130</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-1</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 5px; width: 345px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 5px; width: 85px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 5px; width: 78px;"> </td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 5px; width: 116px;"> </td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;"><strong>Political empowerment </strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;"><strong>87</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;"><strong>90</strong></td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">3</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Women in parliament</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">72</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">70</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-2</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Women in ministerial positions</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">141</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">139</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">-2</td></tr>
<tr><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 345px;">Years with female head of state (last 50)</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 85px;">26</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 78px;">28</td><td nowrap="nowrap" style="height: 19px; width: 116px;">2</td></tr>
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<br />The World Economic Forum identifies the key data on Pakistan as; Country GDP at (US$ billions) 269.97GDP per capita (constant '11 intl. $, PPP) 4,745. The total population (thousands) 188,924.87. The Population growth rate at (%) 1.97. The Population sex ratio (female/male) at 0.95 and Human capital optimization (%) 53.10.<br /><br />“These forecasts are not foregone conclusions. Instead, they reflect the current state of progress and serve as a call to action to policy-makers and other stakeholders to double down on efforts to accelerate gender equality,” said Saadia Zahidi, Head of Education, Gender and Work, and Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum.<br /><br />In South Asia, with 67% of its overall gap closed, is home to two of the top 10 climbers of the world since 2006: Nepal (110) and India (87). Nevertheless, progress in closing the economic gap has been negligible and it could take over 1,000 years to close the economic gender gap fully unless efforts are accelerated.<br /><br /><img align="none" height="204" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a4f1d699f5bd2973020fe352b/images/595441e2-fd36-4f95-9588-13babd792f28.png" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto !important; margin: 1px 5px 1px 1px; outline: none; width: 183px;" width="183" />With an average remaining gender gap of 33%, the South Asia region is the second-lowest scoring on this year’s Global Gender Gap Index, ahead of the Middle East and North Africa and behind the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Bangladesh and India are the top-ranked countries in the region, having closed just under 70% and 68% of their overall gender gap, respectively, while the lowest-ranked countries are Bhutan and Pakistan, having closed 64% and 56% of their overall gender gap, respectively. No country in the region has fully closed its Educational Attainment gender gap, and only one country, Sri Lanka, has fully closed its Health and Survival gender gap. However, the region is also home to one of the top five climbers over the past decade on the overall Index and on Educational Attainment: Nepal.<br /><br /><img align="none" height="1006" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a4f1d699f5bd2973020fe352b/images/e8d04afe-57e3-48fb-b953-5141014319f2.png" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br /><img align="none" height="1003" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/a4f1d699f5bd2973020fe352b/images/ba80ee51-e2d3-4c75-b7d5-a944d448e275.png" style="border: 0px; height: auto !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; width: 640px;" width="640" /><br />On the global front the global prospects for workplace Gender Equality has Slip to the Year 2186 now. There are several factors behind this decline; One is salary, with women around the world on average earning just over half of what men earn despite, on average, working longer hours taking paid and unpaid work into account. Another persistent challenge is stagnant labour force participation, with the global average for women standing at 54%, compared to 81% for men. The number of women in senior positions also remains stubbornly low, with only four countries in the world having equal numbers of male and female legislators, senior officials and managers, despite the fact that 95 countries now have as many – if not more – women educated at university level. In 2015, projections based on the Global Gender Gap Report data suggested that the economic gap could be closed within 118 years, or 2133. However the progress has reversed since then, having peaked in 2013.<br /><br />The slow rate of progress towards gender parity, especially in the economic realm, poses a particular risk given the fact that many jobs that employ a majority of women are likely to be hit proportionately hardest by the coming age of technological disruption known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This “hollowing out” of female livelihoods could deprive economies further of women’s talents and increases the urgency for more women to enter high-growth fields such as those demanding STEM skills. “Women and men must be equal partners in managing the challenges our world faces – and in reaping the opportunities. Both voices are critical in ensuring the Fourth Industrial Revolution delivers its promise for society,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.<br /><br /><strong>Key Messages</strong><br />The World Economic Forum’s <em>Global Gender Gap Report 2016 </em>finds economic parity between the sexes could take 170 years after a dramatic slowdown in progress<br />Slowdown partly down to chronic imbalances in salaries and labour force participation, despite the fact that, in 95 countries, women attend university in equal or higher numbers than men<br />Nordic nations continue to rank among highest performing countries, but several developing and emerging markets have also made it into the top 20; the US falls to 45th<br /><br /><strong>The Methodology</strong><br />The Global Gender Gap Index ranks 144 countries on the gap between women and men on health, education, economic and political indicators. It aims to understand whether countries are distributing their resources and opportunities equitably between women and men, irrespective of their overall income levels. The report measures the size of the gender inequality gap in four areas:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Economic participation and opportunity – salaries, participation and leadership</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Education – access to basic and higher levels of education</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Political empowerment – representation in decision-making structures</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Health and survival – life expectancy and sex ratio</li>
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Index scores can be interpreted as the percentage of the gap that has been closed between women and men, and allow countries to compare their current performance relative to their past performance. In addition, the rankings allow for comparisons between countries. Thirteen out of the 14 variables used to create the index are from publicly available hard data indicators from international organizations such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organization, and one comes a perception survey conducted by the World Economic Forum.<br />In this year’s report, a key methodological change relates to the cap on the estimated earned income (raised from $40,000 to $75,000) to align with the UNDP’s new methodology and reflecting the change in income levels since the report’s inception in 2006.<br /><br /><strong>System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work</strong><br />In addition to benchmarking gender gaps through the <em>Global Gender Gap Report </em>series and other topical studies, the World Economic Forum’s System Initiative on Shaping the Future of Education, Gender and Work aims to ensure that talent is developed, nurtured and deployed for maximum benefit to the economy and society by mobilizing business, governments and civil society leaders to rethink education, close skills gaps, accelerate gender parity and boost employment.<br /><br />Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with some of the most dynamic organizations, including media enterprises and global development agencies helping them develop their communication strategies and solutions for better understanding and creating synergies with their concerned stakeholders. Mishal is the country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum. Mishal’s research and capacity building initiatives have assisted and helped successive governments to improve Pakistan’s global ranking on competitiveness, gender gap, trade and information technology indices.</div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-58122547935295554672016-09-28T03:00:00.000-07:002016-09-28T03:00:00.142-07:00Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 Ranks Pakistan at 122 among 138 countries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;">Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 Ranks Pakistan at 122 among 138 countries.</strong></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgi2RIs9bxa1FD1Hxxs0Wq03E1NrXzbr-hLkxccYqqd_AMlI5SfyaV1pCfpGVBTYwDbDTJdRhixt0C2gsJwpefeRMs0izMd06q5v8n0u6BMPfNpxdN7dVtvHk2ln7-XS-29HNWnJIcQMjD14t8Q11qk0lIpjblH41WqKeaSi__5QEG85TKrpParL7oogN5m-atJAaiwWYG_abk=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="pakistan-performance-on-gci-2005-2016" border="0" class="alignright wp-image-4420" src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Pakistan-Performance-on-GCI-2005-2016.png" height="395" width="640" /></a></div>
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<em>Pakistan improves four points on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum. For the eighth consecutive year, Switzerland ranks as the most competitive economy in the world, narrowly ahead of Singapore and the United States.</em></h4>
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Pakistan has shown some extraordinary recovery on the economic front, where the country has been successful in improving its macroeconomic framework to improve its global competitiveness.</div>
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Pakistan is classified as a factor driven economy, which basically depends on improving its institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary education indicators. Pakistan improved from 119 to 111 on the institutions pillars, while infrastructure improved only one point and stands at 116 this year. On the Macroeconomic Stability Pillar Pakistan jumped from 128 in 2015 to 116. A solid 12 points gain, which shows the country has made economic progress on gross national savings percentage of GDP, where Pakistan improved from 115 in 2015 to 107 this year. While the government debt percentage to GDP also ranks at 95 among 138 economies in the world. The biggest gain however is in the area of inflation; annual percentage change where Pakistan moved from 127 in 2015 to 93 in 2016.</div>
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On other pillars, among 138 countries, Pakistan ranks at Health and Primary Education 128, Higher Education and Training 123, Goods Market Efficiency 117, Labour Market Efficiency 129, Financial Market Sophistication 107, Technological Readiness 119, Market Size 29, Business Sophistication 95 and Innovation 75.</div>
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Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the Country Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum said, “Pakistan has shown improvements on some of the key indicators to improve its global competitiveness, however the country still needs to integrate itself into the digital and cyber world. Pakistan with approx. 186 million population offers great prospects if data and knowledge-based policy making is introduced in the country”. He further said, “decision making based on big-data can enable the governments to engage their citizens in policy making and democratization of development process. In the fourth industrial revolution Pakistan can make a larger digital footprint in the cyber world, thus making its mark on the global policy making, however the country needs to equip its next generation with education and knowledge through digital services and mobile broadband”.</div>
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This year among 114 global competitiveness indicators, Pakistan showed improvements on 54 key indices, whereas on 50 indices the country lost its previous position. While 10 indices remained same as last year.<br />
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Pakistan at 122, ranks last amongst its South Asian neighbors, where India leads at 39 followed by Sri Lanka 71, Bhutan 97, Nepal 98 and Bangladesh at 106. South Asia continues its upward trend as competitiveness improves in most countries in the region. India has been the best performer, climbing to 39th from 55th last year. Over the past decade, the subcontinent has focused on improving overall health and primary education levels and upgrading available infrastructure, areas of particular importance given the resource-driven nature of its economy. However, the latter remains the second weakest spot in the region, just after technological readiness.</div>
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To improve the soft-data on Pakistan, the World Economic Forum closely worked with Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of WEF. This year a total of 350 respondents from the business community were reached out through the annual Executive Opinion Survey, whereas 114 were selected from last year and 236 from this year. The World Economic Forum reached out to 14,000 business executives globally.</div>
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The report also shows performance of some of the key regulatory bodies and other government institutions, which have shown progress as well. Among 138 countries the institutions are ranked as following: Intellectual Property Organization (109), Judicial Independence (88), Police Services (118), Auditor General of Pakistan Revenues (121), National Highways Authority (77), Pakistan Railways (53), Civil Aviation Authority (91), NEPRA (121), Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (115), National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (97), Competition Commission of Pakistan (96), Pakistan Customs (113), State Bank of Pakistan among other 138 Central Banks at (101), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan at (106) and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (135). The SEC of Pakistan has been losing its global ranking at an alarming rate from 51 in 2014 to 106 this year. </div>
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The report also indicates that a ten-year decline in the openness of economies at all stages of development poses a risk to countries’ ability to grow and innovate, according to <em>The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017</em>. The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 138 countries. The degree to which economies are open to international trade in goods and services is directly linked to both economic growth and a nation’s innovative potential. The trend, which is based on perception data from Global Competitiveness Index (GCI)’s Executive Opinion Survey, is gradual and attributed mainly to a rise in non-tariff barriers although three other factors are also taken into account; burdensome customs procedures; rules affecting FDI and foreign ownership. It is most keenly felt in the high and upper middle income economies.</div>
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“Declining openness in the global economy is harming competitiveness and making it harder for leaders to drive sustainable, inclusive growth,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum.</div>
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The report also sheds light on why quantitative easing and other monetary policy measures have been insufficient in reigniting long-term growth for the world’s advanced economies. The report finds that interventions by economies with comparatively low GCI scores failed to generate the same effect as those performed in economies with high scores, suggesting that strong underlying competitiveness is a key requirement for successful monetary stimulus.</div>
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The report offers insight into how priorities may be shifting for nations in earlier stages of development. While basic drivers of competitiveness such as infrastructure, health, education and well-functioning markets will always be important, data in the GCI suggests that a nation’s performance in terms of technological readiness, business sophistication and innovation is now as important in driving competitiveness and growth.
<em>The Global Competitiveness Report</em>’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2005. Defining competitiveness as <em>the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country</em>, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness. The 12 pillars are: institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation. </div>
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Key Findings:<br />
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<li><em>The Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 </em>finds declining openness is threatening growth and prosperity.</li>
<li>Monetary stimulus measures such as quantitative easing are not enough to sustain growth and must be accompanied by competitiveness reforms.</li>
<li>For emerging economies, updated business practices and investment in innovation are now as important as infrastructure, skills and efficient markets.</li>
<li>Switzerland, Singapore and the United States remain the world’s most competitive economies; India is the highest rising economy, climbing 16 places</li>
<li>Access the full report, infographics, videos and more visit: <a href="http://www.weforum.org/">weforum.org</a></li>
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<strong><span data-mce-style="font-size: 18pt;" style="font-size: 18pt;">Pakistan Shows Improvements on the Global Competitiveness Report 2015 – 2016 of the World Economic Forum.</span><a data-mce-href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2015-2016/" href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2015-2016/"><img alt="GCR 2015 - 2016" class="alignright wp-image-3903" data-mce-src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-3.46.52-PM.png" height="433" src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-3.46.52-PM.png" style="float: right;" width="305" /></a></strong></h2>
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<em><strong>Pakistan showcases improvements of three ranks by attaining the position of 126, as compared to 129 in 2014 among 140 countries. (<a data-mce-href="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Pakistan-GCR-2015-2016.pdf" href="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Pakistan-GCR-2015-2016.pdf">Pakistan's Scorecard on GCR 2015 - 2016</a>)</strong></em></div>
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<em><strong>The Government fails to improve regulatory bodies for more effective and efficient governance in the country.</strong></em></div>
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<em><strong>Corruption tops as the most problematic factor for doing business in Pakistan.</strong></em></div>
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A failure to embrace long-term structural reforms that boost productivity and free up entrepreneurial talent is harming the global economy’s ability to improve living standards, solve persistently high unemployment and generate adequate resilience for future economic downturns, according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016, which is released today.</div>
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The report is an annual assessment of the factors driving productivity and prosperity in 140 countries. This year’s edition found a correlation between highly competitive countries and those that have either withstood the global economic crisis or made a swift recovery from it. The failure, particularly by emerging markets, to improve competitiveness since the recession suggests future shocks to the global economy could have deep and protracted consequences.</div>
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Pakistan has shown resilience in improving macro-economic indicators in the basic requirement pillars, while the pillars for efficiency enhancers, innovation and sophistication have shown weaknesses over the last one-year.</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="-webkit-user-drag: none;"><img alt="AJ Profile Picture 2013" class="wp-image-3906 size-thumbnail" data-mce-src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/AJ-Profile-Picture-2013-150x150.jpg" height="150" src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/AJ-Profile-Picture-2013-150x150.jpg" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="150" /></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 5px;">Amir Jahangir</dd></dl>
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“The gains have been significant, however institutional weaknesses have hampered Pakistan’s progress to achieve its true potential. Most of the institutions have shown deterioration in their performance and ranking except a few”, said Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer, Mishal Pakistan, the Partner Institute of Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network, World Economic Forum. .</div>
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On the twelve pillars of the Global Competitiveness Index Pakistan scored as following; Institutions 119, Infrastructure 117, Macroeconomic environment 128, Health and primary education 127, Higher education and training 124, Goods market efficiency 116, Labor market efficiency 132, Financial market efficiency 99, Technological readiness 113, Market size 28, Business sophistication 86 and Innovation 89</div>
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The government has been successful in improving the burden of government regulation from 103 in 2014 to an impressive 86 in 2015. Pakistan also improved the general government budget balance as percentage of the GDP by improving 28 ranks and securing 106th position.</div>
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While the indicators for quality of education system (75) has improved, availability of Internet access in schools has deteriorated to 103 this year from 89 in 2014. This signifies the widening gap between multiple education systems prevailing in the country.</div>
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Pakistan also benefited from its 3G and 4G rollout in the telecommunication sector, where the country improved on foreign direct investment and technology transfer indicator by 13 ranks and sits at 77 rank among 140 countries. Similarly the indicator for government’s procurement of advanced tech products has shown an improvement on 46 ranks, from 98 in 2014 to 52 in 2015.</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Figure 1: Pakistan's performance on the Global Competitiveness Index 2015 - 2016 of WEF" class="wp-image-3902" data-mce-src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-3.43.44-PM-1024x648.png" height="403" src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-3.43.44-PM-1024x648.png" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="640" /></dt>
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<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 5px;">Figure 1: Pakistan's performance on the Global Competitiveness Index 2015 - 2016 of the World Economic Forum</dd></dl>
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The Judicial independence has lost its ranking of 67 last year to 82 in 2015. The governments have shown greater favoritism in decisions of government officials ranking at 101 this year, where Pakistan lost 26 ranks.</div>
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Under the goods market efficiency Pakistan lost solid 16 ranks, where the extent of market dominance, which measures the characteristic of corporate activities has gone from 71 in 2014 to 110 in 2015. Similarly the performance of the Competition Commission of Pakistan’s effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy has gone from bad to worst 85 in 2014 to 106 in 2015. Similarly the performance of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has also been on the decline, with major indicators showing poor performance over the last year; burden of customs procedures has been ranked at 111 this year as compared to 87 in 2014.</div>
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Similarly the various regulatory bodies have shown weak governance indicators, losing ranks to other emerging markets. The Accountant General of Pakistan on the strength of accounting and reporting strength has gone from the rank of 90 in the last year to 117 in 2015. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, which gained success in the last few years has proved to be weak and ineffective for the last one year, as it lost 42 ranks, SECP ranks now at 93 as compared to 71 in 2014 among 140 regulators of security exchanges globally.</div>
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First place in the GCI rankings, for the seventh consecutive year, goes to Switzerland. Its strong performance in all 12 pillars of the index explains its remarkable resilience throughout the crisis and subsequent shocks. Singapore remains in 2nd place and the United States 3rd. Germany improves by one place to 4th and the Netherlands returns to the 5th place it held three years ago. Japan (6th) and Hong Kong SAR (7th) follow, both stable. Finland falls to 8th place – its lowest position ever – followed by Sweden (9th). The United Kingdom rounds up the top 10 of the most competitive economies in the world.</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt" style="-webkit-user-drag: none;"><img alt="The Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016 Rankings" class="wp-image-3907 size-full" data-mce-src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-5.32.42-PM.png" height="764" src="http://mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Screen-Shot-2015-09-29-at-5.32.42-PM.png" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; border: 0px none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="485" /></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 5px;">The Global Competitiveness Index 2015–2016 Rankings</dd></dl>
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Among the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) India leads the way at 55th, followed by Sri Lanka (68th, up five). Nepal (100th, up two), Bhutan (105th, down two), Bangladesh (107th, up two), and Pakistan (126th, up three) all rank 100th or below. Although last year all SAARC countries except Bhutan posted small gains, since 2007 only Nepal has managed to progress significantly (14 places gained); Pakistan lost 34 places during that period and India, despite leapfrogging 16 places this year, still ranks seven notches lower than it did in 2007.</div>
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The report’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) also finds a close link between competitiveness and an economy’s ability to nurture, attract, leverage and support talent. The top-ranking countries all fare well in this regard. But in many countries, too few people have access to high-quality education and training, and labour markets are not flexible enough.</div>
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The Global Competitiveness Report 2015–2016 is being launched at a pivotal time for the global economy. On the one hand, economic development is characterized by the “new normal” of higher unemployment, lower productivity growth, and subdued economic growth that could still be derailed by uncertainties such as geopolitical tensions, the future path of emerging markets, energy prices, and currency changes. On the other hand, other recent developments show great promise - the so-called fourth industrial revolution and new ways of consuming such as the sharing economy could lead to another wave of significant innovations that drive growth. At the same time, across countries we are witnessing economic policymaking become increasingly people-centered and embedded in overall societal goals.</div>
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The fourth industrial revolution is facilitating the rise of completely new industries and economic models and the rapid decline of</div>
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<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 5px;">Klaus Schwab</dd></dl>
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others. To remain competitive in this new economic landscape will require greater emphasis than ever before on key drivers of productivity, such as talent and innovation," said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.</div>
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“The new normal of slow productivity growth poses a grave threat to the global economy and seriously impacts the world’s ability to tackle key challenges such as unemployment and income inequality. The best way to address this is for leaders to prioritize reform and investment in areas such as innovation and labour markets; this will free up entrepreneurial talent and allow human capital to flourish,” said Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Professor of Economics at Columbia University.</div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-48753823458441395942014-09-03T05:24:00.000-07:002014-09-04T05:38:49.062-07:00World Economic Forum Improves Pakistan’s Competitiveness Ranking in 2014-2015 Global Competitiveness Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 36px;">World Economic Forum Improves Pakistan’s Competitiveness Ranking.</span></b></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16pt;">Securing 129<sup>th</sup> rank among 144 Economies around the world, Pakistan improves 4 ranks as compared to 2013.</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">Pakistan has been ranked at 129 out of the 144 economies around the world in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2014 - 2015, released on the 3</span><sup style="line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">rd</sup><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"> of September 2014 in Geneva.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity, innovation and prosperity.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 16px;">The report findings show that Switzerland tops the overall rankings in the Global Competitiveness Report for the fifth consecutive year. Singapore remains in second position, the United States in third position, and Finland ranked at 4th. Germany 5, Japan 6, Hong Kong 7, The Netherlands 8, the United Kingdom 9, and Sweden ranked at 10.</span><span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="color: black;"><u></u><u></u></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">The report evaluates that among the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Pakistan is the at the last among the SAARC member countries at 129, whereas India is at 71, Sri Lanka at 73, Nepal at 102, Bhutan at 103, Bangladesh at 109. Afghanistan and Maldives have not been included in the report this year. However India and Sri Lanka both lost 11 and 8 points respectively as compared to last year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">“Although Pakistan has shown slight improvements on the Global Competitiveness Index, it is still passing though a difficult time”, said Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum. He further said “Pakistan is facing serious challenges on the economic management side; with a double-digit inflation, very low savings rate of 13.2% of the GDP, general government debt at 63.1% of GDP and the 8% budget deficit gives little room for government to create socio-economic dividends for its citizens”. “Pakistan needs to make competitiveness as part of its growth and stabilization strategy for sustainable development across all factors of economy”, Jahangir said.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">This year report consists of three main indexes and 12 pillars. Among 144 economies, Pakistan ranked in basic requirements at 134, in efficiency enhancers at 101 and in innovation and sophistication factors ranked at 83.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">All the 12 pillars included into the report ranks Pakistan as follows: Institutions are ranked at 123, infrastructure at 119, macroeconomic environment at 137, health and primary education at 129, higher education and training at 127, goods market efficiency at 100, labor market efficiency at 132, financial market development at 72, technological readiness at 114, market size at 30, business sophistication at 81 and innovation at 88.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">After two consecutive years of steep decline, Pakistan (129th) remains essentially stable since last year. The country obtains low marks in the most critical and basic areas of competitiveness. Its public institutions (125th) are constrained by red tape, corruption, patronage, and lack of property rights protection. Its security situation remains alarming (142nd). Pakistan is the third least safe countries covered, behind only Yemen and Libya.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Thanks to a lower inflation rate and a smaller budget deficit, the country’s macroeconomic situation improves slightly but nevertheless remains dismissal (137th). Pakistan’s infrastructure (119th) particularly for electricity (133rd) is underdeveloped. Moreover, the country’s performance in terms of health and education is among the worst of all the countries covered. Infant mortality (137th) is the highest outside sub-Saharan Africa, and with one of the lowest enrollment rates in the world (132nd) is the estimated that almost a quarter of children do not go to primary school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Pakistan’s competitiveness is further penalized by the many rigidities and inefficiencies of its labor market (132</span><sup style="line-height: 12px;">nd</sup><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">, up six). Female participation in the labor force is the world’s fifth lowest (140</span><sup style="line-height: 12px;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">). The potential for ICTs is not sufficiently leveraged and access to ICTs remain low (114</span><sup style="line-height: 12px;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">). On a slightly more positive note, Pakistan does comparatively better in the more advanced areas captured by the Global Competitiveness Index ranking 72</span><sup style="line-height: 12px;">nd</sup><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"> in the financial development pillar and 81</span><sup style="line-height: 12px;">st</sup><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"> on the business sophistication pillar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">The most problematic areas in doing business in Pakistan stipulated in the report include corruption as the leading factor, along with, policy instability, access to financing, inefficient government bureaucracy, inflation, inadequate supply of infrastructure, government instability/coups, crime and theft, inadequately educated workforce, tax rates, tax regulations, poor public health and insufficient capacity to innovate.</span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The most problematic factors for doing business in Pakistan: Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report is the most influential ranking of a country’s economic competitiveness and it affects Pakistan’s image in the world among business, governments and financial leaders. The Report series remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uNVaxNZRXENHvjIwB1M9sRKCPTzTu3JdvrxOAljUdZBWTZv3_XHyFn3ZLSnpwg4_XELSnbPhRzyewjIsuXskTNZQiKs9H_sC-g6hLOfBsku6khaIWWJFzto0sgi5WCg4G7E9Mi9kFnE/s1600/Klaus+Schwab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uNVaxNZRXENHvjIwB1M9sRKCPTzTu3JdvrxOAljUdZBWTZv3_XHyFn3ZLSnpwg4_XELSnbPhRzyewjIsuXskTNZQiKs9H_sC-g6hLOfBsku6khaIWWJFzto0sgi5WCg4G7E9Mi9kFnE/s1600/Klaus+Schwab.jpg" height="149" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">“The global economy may have exited crisis mode, but the path to sustainable growth remains uncertain,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “Quality growth is key to reinforcing inclusiveness and it is imperative that leaders act now to underscore prosperity and productivity for the future.”<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">On the global side the health of the global economy is at risk, despite years of bold monetary policy, as countries struggle to implement structural reforms necessary to help economies grow. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">In its annual assessment of the factors driving countries’ productivity and prosperity, the report identifies uneven implementation of structural reforms across different regions and levels of development as the biggest challenge to sustaining global growth. It also highlights talent and innovation as two areas where leaders in the public and private sectors need to collaborate more effectively in order to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic development.</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">The Global Competitiveness Report’s competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which was introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2004. Defining competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data covering 12 categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that collectively make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Mishal Pakistan is the country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks of the World Economic Forum. </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">Established in 2003, Mishal has been engaged with key stakeholders in Pakistan to improve the state of competitiveness and media through good governance initiatives and by creating appreciation for data journalism.</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.</span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-51633692566854476372014-04-23T11:18:00.001-07:002014-04-23T11:18:13.951-07:00Pakistan needs to improve its digital eco-system for sustained economic growth.<a href="http://inndevcom.blogspot.com/2014/04/GITR2014.html?spref=bl">Pakistan needs to improve its digital eco-system for sustained economic growth.</a><br /><br />
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<h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; position: relative;"><b style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pakistan needs to improve its digital eco-system for sustained economic growth</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">;</span></span></b><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Global Information Technology Report 2014, World Economic Forum</span></i></b><b style="background-color: transparent; display: inline !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 36px;"> </span></span></span></span></span></b><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; display: inline !important; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-information-technology-report-2014" style="color: black; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Global Information Technology Report 2014</span></a></b></h2><h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.25em;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>The Global Information Technology Report 2014 features the latest results of the NRI, offering an overview of the current state of ICT readiness in the world. This year’s coverage includes a record number of 148 economies, accounting for over 98 percent of global GDP.</i></span></span></h3><h1 style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 209, 209); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; margin: 10px 0px 16px; padding-bottom: 12px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"></div><i style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Watch the live launch conference: </span></span></i><i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://new.livestream.com/wef/gitr2014" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">http://new.livestream.com/wef/gitr2014</a></span></i></div></span></h1><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background-color: white; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; float: right; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; margin-left: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalInformationTechnology_Report_2014.pdf" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK1H4Cy2QzpAhjr19DEeBf5p2Lqq-8bR2pXET470tajpnH-YybjbJ2tLIjMLLtLX9wacflcQ5vyMsmG9s3Bb8Dk0l_6J_sCO0w-N1QBBtAW7GmpBJsWAZ7yWxE_ERg2VJqEOecccrwG8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+12.10.30+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="222" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalInformationTechnology_Report_2014.pdf" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Global Information Technology Report 2014<br />please click image to download complete report</a></span><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pakistan ensures technology affordability to businesses and individual consumers, announced by the Global Information Technology Report 2014 of the World Economic Forum (WEF).</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">At the rank of 111 among 148 countries, Pakistan’s performance has been relatively stable on the Network Readiness Index 2014 of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Pakistan lost 6 ranks as compared to 2013.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pakistan showed slight improvement on the Business and Innovation Environment pillar by improving in ranking at 101 as compared to 102 last year. Also on the readiness sub-index it improves from 21 in 2013 to 19 this year. The efficiency of legal system in settling disputes has risen from 109 last year to 112 in 2014. Similarly the efficiency of legal system has also deteriorated from 97 to 108 in 2013 and 2014 respectively. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“One of the key findings of the report is that Pakistan cannot only rely on ICT infrastructure development to become competitive. Rather, the benefits of ICT can only be fully derived when a country implements a holistic strategy aimed at creating conditions for skills, innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish alongside modern infrastructure” said Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, a country partner institute of the World Economic Forum.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /><div style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">One of the primary concerns for Pakistan is the lack of data protection laws, this can have medium to long-term impact on the development of a knowledge-based industry fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, a burgeon that Pakistan needs to capitalize due to its demographic potential”, Jahangir further added. </span></div><div style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Report showed concerns on Pakistan’s human capital development on the skills pillar to improve performance on the network readiness index as the quality of the education system has gone bad to worst i.e. 75 (2013) to 84 this year. An alarming decline in the performance in maths and science education has also been pointed out where Pakistan stands at 104 now from the ranking of 88 in 2013. The report showed serious efforts required by both the public and private sector on the extent of staff training where it has lost 16 points and the country stands at an alarming 128 rank. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; float: left; margin-right: 1em; padding: 5px; position: relative;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1Y859i1nfe-haRuJcCFHWsXaWnxwxB-TNVZanrbNvY-x0QbJpmpoTvikjJCZSZujoc-ZPO8Sj5-HFJDAj003XZfumwdgg-mPSke6NCTvBKFdsdHfWOyybTz_v5NXooHQgIF95eke7N4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.47.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #888888; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1Y859i1nfe-haRuJcCFHWsXaWnxwxB-TNVZanrbNvY-x0QbJpmpoTvikjJCZSZujoc-ZPO8Sj5-HFJDAj003XZfumwdgg-mPSke6NCTvBKFdsdHfWOyybTz_v5NXooHQgIF95eke7N4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.47.18+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uWT9-GmxIqZ94dFVXeiVB_kuWZNcOC2oUsaXgN8l5UA/edit?usp=sharing" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Global Information Technology Report 2014<br />Please click to download presentation</span> </a></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Pakistan has shown improvements in the business and innovation environment pillar, where availability of latest technologies has improved from 83 (2013) to 79 (2014), however, lack of venture capital has dropped 22 points and ranks at 77 this year. Pakistan is also losing its regional competitiveness advantage on doing business indicators, where number of days to start a business ranks at 98 and the number of procedures to start a business at 119 now. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The report, highlighting the “affordability of technology”, ranks Pakistan as the 10<sup>th</sup> most affordable cellular serviced country, where Liberia tops this list while Sri Lanka is at 4<sup>th</sup>, Bangladesh at 5<sup>th</sup> and India being on 7<sup>th</sup> number globally. Pakistan ranks at number 1 on the Internet and telephony competition globally. On monthly subscription charges for fixed (wired) broadband Internet service (PPP $), Pakistan stands on 62 as compared to Sri Lank being the most affordable (among 148 countries), Bangladesh being at 3<sup>rd</sup> and India at 4<sup>th</sup> in the region.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On the “businesses usage of technology” Pakistan has improved its indicators, where business-to-business usage of Internet has improved from 116 to 104 this year, similarly the business to consumer usage has also gained improvement by securing the position of 103 from 112 last year.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">On the government usage of technology Pakistan showed some depressive performance as importance of ICT to government’s vision has gone from 117 in 2013 to 128 in 2014. Similarly, the government in promoting the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) Pakistan was also weak as this year it ranked at 91 from 77 in 2013.</span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; text-align: center;"></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;" /><br />
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOyH48I_OXPkkb5At-Waka8nBhXod4HMuinCgKCuAZ9I0E_NphMpL614IpEYzWDfc4aRoQp8RFOeAv4yr4kOe13Er4ErhF5jwa98i44awo5cA9ybr1THZmYrXO8Tw-H7JntoFC2syVYk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.37.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOyH48I_OXPkkb5At-Waka8nBhXod4HMuinCgKCuAZ9I0E_NphMpL614IpEYzWDfc4aRoQp8RFOeAv4yr4kOe13Er4ErhF5jwa98i44awo5cA9ybr1THZmYrXO8Tw-H7JntoFC2syVYk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.37.11+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">Little progress is being made in bridging the digital divide between technology savvy nations and others, according to the 13th edition of the Global Information Technology Report 2014. The stalling of progress is worrisome for emerging and developing nations, which are at risk of missing out on many positive impacts information and communications technologies (ICT) bring, including increased innovation, economic competitiveness and greater social inclusion.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"></span><br /><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDMvzOVa8h9osQ42lIVN9Y_XhXgVs0Fxf406HMS6yeHCAPUZ-Jv4InDHIb6_7od57zOtfNPNfRtDnlmn93-3yXnKQ2JCR9G81aKslUES1xxVgf4bWDOmwDTCBHq9twlB5Xlz2P3ZGzis/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.59.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUDMvzOVa8h9osQ42lIVN9Y_XhXgVs0Fxf406HMS6yeHCAPUZ-Jv4InDHIb6_7od57zOtfNPNfRtDnlmn93-3yXnKQ2JCR9G81aKslUES1xxVgf4bWDOmwDTCBHq9twlB5Xlz2P3ZGzis/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.59.43+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In the South Asian region, Pakistan was outperformed by Sri Lank at 76, India 83, Bhutan 94, Iran 104, whereas Pakistan was ahead of Bangladesh at 119 and Nepal 123.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lower down the Index, many large emerging economies continue to struggle to realize their full digital potential. China (62nd), Brazil (69th) and Mexico (79th) and India (83rd) all drop in the rankings. However, countries that have developed a strong vision to develop their ICT capacity do well, such as the United Arab Emirates (24th), Kazakhstan (38th) or Panama (43rd), which all improved.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">With this year’s coverage extending to a record 148 economies, the Global Information Technology Report (GITR) report remains one of the most comprehensive and authoritative assessments of the impact of ICT on competitiveness of nations and the well-being of their citizens.</span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="700" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://widgets.weforum.org/global-information-technology-report-2014/" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="560"></iframe><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"> </span><br /><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Published under the theme, “Rewards and Risks of Big Data”, the report’s Networked Readiness Index (NRI) measures the capacity of 148 economies to leverage ICT for growth and well-being. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It finds consistency at the top end of the rankings this year, with Finland (1st), Singapore (2nd), Sweden (3rd), the Netherlands (4th), Norway (5th) and Switzerland (6th) all retaining their positions from last year. The United States (7th) continues its upward trajectory, while Hong Kong SAR (8th) and the Republic of Korea (10th) both climb. The United Kingdom (9th) is the only nation in the top 10 to fall.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; color: #222222; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj1Y0tp4Q4ONyZGal72G2tv8Rf0Cn2H0Qm5xOwClvG7n34c1OqKw0t03IwOwYu19-YJvNG_AJHucfcReKTgzyi2YrdEGGuWz4n5UTlat1sKyexrbmE5wiz0oWkvARKLL7iB8s_lykh2E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.54.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj1Y0tp4Q4ONyZGal72G2tv8Rf0Cn2H0Qm5xOwClvG7n34c1OqKw0t03IwOwYu19-YJvNG_AJHucfcReKTgzyi2YrdEGGuWz4n5UTlat1sKyexrbmE5wiz0oWkvARKLL7iB8s_lykh2E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.54.40+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Network Readiness Index Rankings for 2014:<br />Global Information Technology Report 2014, World Economic Forum</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">To measure this, the NRI assesses the preparedness of an economy to fully leverage ICT in terms of:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"></div><ol style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">ICT infrastructure cost of access and the presence of the necessary skills to ensure an optimal use </span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Uptake and use of ICT among governments, business and individuals</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Business and innovation environment, and the political and regulatory framework</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Economic and social impacts accruing from ICT</span></li>
</ol><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“Over time, the GITR series has become one of the most respected studies of its kind. It is used extensively by policymakers and relevant stakeholders as a unique tool to identify strengths and weaknesses and to define and build national strategies for developing and better leveraging their digital potential,” said Soumitra Dutta, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and co-editor of the report.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YnEMWZcd7DizGnHFH6Zs9V708ztTxXoV1Ccl_T_DKLE6XjdMZbuaFfKV5defNkyPhIG4UE-zVb4durXbyo1RBrJ8V_pEIcpHpvGuElbCr2I8L8zoPgc-e4N1XI-gj5tehavVZJrEju8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.57.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YnEMWZcd7DizGnHFH6Zs9V708ztTxXoV1Ccl_T_DKLE6XjdMZbuaFfKV5defNkyPhIG4UE-zVb4durXbyo1RBrJ8V_pEIcpHpvGuElbCr2I8L8zoPgc-e4N1XI-gj5tehavVZJrEju8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.57.12+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“In addition to the persistent digital divide across countries, governments should also be wary of understanding, identifying and addressing potential internal digital divides so that new opportunities can be created for all and support enhanced social inclusion,” said Beñat Bilbao-Osorio, senior economist at the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network and co-editor of the report.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">In this sense, “digital strategies should not focus only on developing the ICT infrastructure, but also in creating the right conditions for an effective use of ICT to boost innovation, competitiveness and higher social inclusion,” said Bruno Lanvin, executive director of INSEAD’s European Competitiveness Initiative (IECI), and of Global Indices projects at INSEAD.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“Nations and organizations need to understand where they stand in terms of a Big Data maturity, assess their progress, and determine what they need to do to extract greater business and organizational benefits from the vast volume of data,” said Bahjat El-Darwiche, partner, Strategy& (formely Booz & Company) and sponsor of the report.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">“The Internet of Everything and big data applications are ushering in the next wave of technology innovation,” according to Dr Robert Pepper, vice president of Global Technology Policy at Cisco. "Big data requires big judgment, and the right policies are needed so that the Internet of Everything can deliver on its promise of immense economic and social benefits."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLrP88dCOYROUjB_Rz7mN8bxKhXeNUz7Oc2erhvA9awsNogWie0Eczk6o6JQK89naD3qrlQGGp0V5LCTWeWi4tuk0bQQ5JfdhMmQSpFEJfOoKuUyxNpWmxhKyVQMjORQfpCtw8YTx6Lc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="574" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLrP88dCOYROUjB_Rz7mN8bxKhXeNUz7Oc2erhvA9awsNogWie0Eczk6o6JQK89naD3qrlQGGp0V5LCTWeWi4tuk0bQQ5JfdhMmQSpFEJfOoKuUyxNpWmxhKyVQMjORQfpCtw8YTx6Lc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.35+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOt4D_dnrsFYBZNXM3SCQlBlDn6AlMAG9ahStH9fbwFlSKerc7rMUCyNGHvjXtAarFb5RCkqgfv7pi0A0H9sJTjBMRyiIJVbgA8SHQvzKl-i08GOaaNqMkBIX9bNuWe54a9tBTVE3P34/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOt4D_dnrsFYBZNXM3SCQlBlDn6AlMAG9ahStH9fbwFlSKerc7rMUCyNGHvjXtAarFb5RCkqgfv7pi0A0H9sJTjBMRyiIJVbgA8SHQvzKl-i08GOaaNqMkBIX9bNuWe54a9tBTVE3P34/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.58+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_Ryn4Rqe8LxQUPjXiQEC-2AQkVSonlXmnwjdCheMQc6cM7gk_uCFqNrYuMKrhxFgpQlATja0Mnp9rkJcaNPuKvHWDgnfBrDkuPq0ejW28Ab1keyAUxuiq1RY-GaXYejzwcFtcPODUqs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_Ryn4Rqe8LxQUPjXiQEC-2AQkVSonlXmnwjdCheMQc6cM7gk_uCFqNrYuMKrhxFgpQlATja0Mnp9rkJcaNPuKvHWDgnfBrDkuPq0ejW28Ab1keyAUxuiq1RY-GaXYejzwcFtcPODUqs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.48+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQ0Mh1F5arvrWtQo3RAScYzmJeCif36iN89XE9_3Bd1OY4aLLVVahHik-U5kkPk7_AKIBnhKY7nAGopfvsMvbphloE9mL46VbaEbLoUOPmJJkNub_GVAcD_2SDB3tDygEFwePgif7Lww/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvQ0Mh1F5arvrWtQo3RAScYzmJeCif36iN89XE9_3Bd1OY4aLLVVahHik-U5kkPk7_AKIBnhKY7nAGopfvsMvbphloE9mL46VbaEbLoUOPmJJkNub_GVAcD_2SDB3tDygEFwePgif7Lww/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+7.06.15+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The Global Information Technology Report is the result of a long-standing partnership between the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, and, since last year, with the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. The soft-data on Pakistan for the Global Information Technology Report is generated by Mishal Pakistan through the annual Executive Opinion Survey. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Az8Oaokktke_hlxGoWgWcYV5Rh9aYro6mDAgVnKwdpGN2BgAjLG3cqD3xeEuVUFtQFdPb-BcRucnYUxYdM4Q8y60a9KVOZWCbTns9WoPywjYmFQ8RGwXAY0rYUTiYjYBAyP8LG5YOsw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.59.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Az8Oaokktke_hlxGoWgWcYV5Rh9aYro6mDAgVnKwdpGN2BgAjLG3cqD3xeEuVUFtQFdPb-BcRucnYUxYdM4Q8y60a9KVOZWCbTns9WoPywjYmFQ8RGwXAY0rYUTiYjYBAyP8LG5YOsw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.59.28+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The NRI uses a combination of data from publicly available sources and the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the Forum in collaboration with Partner institutes, a network of over 160 leading research institutes and business organizations. This survey of more than 15,000 executives provides insight into areas critical for networked readiness.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzf6N_T_KQoMbPrYUJyzdyCoNSdOb7o3KLbluPnL5q7RQAzZ8Gcy1PdWMKdiOYiblGXIYyBiH617mEWJOKkE0FSwWKWhmj6EJa0SCLXaeke59DOp6RWLz9aTjlI9agEu9Shghp9acY6Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.33.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzf6N_T_KQoMbPrYUJyzdyCoNSdOb7o3KLbluPnL5q7RQAzZ8Gcy1PdWMKdiOYiblGXIYyBiH617mEWJOKkE0FSwWKWhmj6EJa0SCLXaeke59DOp6RWLz9aTjlI9agEu9Shghp9acY6Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-23+at+6.33.32+PM.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="feature-image image-wrap " id="feature-image" style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: 330px; line-height: 20px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 628px;"><div class="picture picturefill-loaded" data-alt="" data-height="330" data-picture="" data-title="" data-width="628"><img alt="" class="shim" height="330" src="http://forumblog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/mp/image-cache/site/c/computer.da078456fd17a14f76d889bd86afefdd.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; vertical-align: middle;" width="628" /></div><div class="info" style="background-image: url(http://forumblog.org/wp-content/themes/wef-blog/images/image-wrap-info.png); bottom: 0px; color: #5a5a5a; font-size: 0.625em; height: 18px; left: 0px; line-height: 18px; position: absolute; width: 628px;"><span class="tax" style="background-image: url(http://forumblog.org/wp-content/themes/wef-blog/images/image-wrap-info-tax.gif); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; bottom: 0px; display: block; height: 18px; left: 0px; padding-left: 14px; position: absolute;">Forum</span><span class="type" style="border-left-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; display: block; float: right; height: 18px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; text-transform: uppercase;">ARTICLE</span></div></div><div class="post-title post-title-columns" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(240, 240, 240); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 12px; min-height: 124px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 0px 20px; position: relative; width: 596px;"><h1 itemprop="name" style="border-bottom-style: none; color: black; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.875em; height: auto; line-height: 1.0666666666666667em; margin: 15px 0px 10px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 270px;">The top 10 countries for embracing IT</h1></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1em;">Which economies are best placed to benefit from new information and communication technologies (ICTs), bridge the digital divide and extract value from big data?</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">The Networked Readiness Index (NRI), part of the <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-information-technology-report-2014/" style="color: #8c8c8c; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">2014 Global Information Technology Report: The Risks and Rewards of Big Data</a>, published today, ranks 148 countries for the quality of their digital infrastructure and ability to use ICTs to generate economic growth, foster innovation and improve the well-being of their citizens.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Here is a list of the top 10 economies making the most of the digital age, according to the NRI:</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>1. Finland </b>tops the rankings for the second consecutive year, thanks to its outstanding digital infrastructure, which the Global Information Technology Report (GITR) says is the best in the world. With more than 90% of its population using the internet, and with high levels of innovation, Finland is reaping the rewards of investing heavily in ICT in the mid-1990s, which it did in response to a financial crisis.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>2. Singapore </b>remains in second place in the NRI. Supported by a government with a clear digital strategy, which offers an ICT infrastructure that is relentlessly being improved, and the best online services and highest-quality education systems in the world, this city state has become a knowledge-intensive economy and ICT powerhouse.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>3. Sweden </b>stays in third place, reflecting its world-class yet affordable digital infrastructure and stable pro-business environment, despite high tax rates. These strengths have led to outstanding use of ICTs by individuals, businesses and government, as well as one of the highest innovation performances in the world, making Sweden a truly knowledge-based society.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>4. The Netherlands </b>also retains its high ranking from the 2013 index. This service-based economy has quickly and skilfully recognized the importance of ICTs in boosting innovation and competitiveness. Information technology permeates all sections of society in the Netherlands, with nearly everyone able to access a computer and home internet connection, and a large number of government services available online.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>5. Norway</b>, with a well-developed and affordable ICT infrastructure, sits in fifth place in the NRI. Digital uptake is almost universal among Norway’s population: 95% are internet users and more than 90% have access to a personal computer and internet connection at home. In addition, the country benefits from a stable pro-business and pro-innovation environment and a government that is aware of the importance of connectivity for the economic and social development of a geographically vast nation with a widely dispersed population.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>6. Switzerland </b>benefits from an excellent, if expensive, ICT infrastructure and a strong education system that provides the necessary skills to create a knowledge-based, technology-rich economy. These assets, coupled with a stable political and regulatory environment and excellent conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship, have resulted in outstanding digital uptake and use by businesses.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>7. The United States </b>moves up two positions to seventh on the list, thanks to improvements in many areas of the index, including the country’s already strong business and innovation environment and ICT infrastructure, notably in terms of wider access to international internet bandwidth. Overall, the country has seen a robust uptake of digital technology by all major stakeholders, whether businesses, governments or individuals.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>8. Hong Kong </b>has shown the most pronounced improvement among the top 10, climbing six positions to eighth place. This has been driven by improvements in conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship, better skills training and increased use by both business and government. Hong Kong enjoys a well-developed infrastructure, and this has had a positive economic and social impact.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>9. The United Kingdom </b>drops two places from last year. Like the Netherlands, the UK was early in recognizing the importance of ICTs, especially to innovation and competitiveness, and as a result has become highly digitized, with a thriving e-commerce environment. This, coupled with a pro-business approach, has had wide-ranging economic and social benefits.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><b>10. South Korea </b>moves up one position and enters the top 10. A country that has based its economic success largely on the ICT industry, Korea’s government ranks first in the world in terms of online services. The country’s focus on developing its technological capacity as part of its economic development strategy has also improved its reputation for innovation.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><strong>Top information technology trends are featured in the <a href="https://forumacademy.weforum.org/courses/ForumAcademy/PLM14101/Summer_2014/about" style="color: #8c8c8c; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Global Information Technology Outlook</a> module of<a href="https://forumacademy.weforum.org/" style="color: #8c8c8c; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Forum Academy</a>, the Forum’s online professional leadership development platform.</strong></div><div><strong><br /></strong></div>
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<b style="color: #222222; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite challenging environment Pakistan offers relatively efficient border administration for enabling trade, </span></b><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">Global Enabling Trade Report 2014, World Economic Forum</span></i></h2>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Failure to Tackle Trade Reforms Puts Social and Economic Progress at Risk. Pakistan Ranks at 114 among 138 Countries on the Enabling Trade Index of the World Economic Forum.</span></b></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGB7u0l7HmOqUP_dXr_W33mS05g5IWBjZN5KVS7YOzfmeb087-g_gZi6kMyO0XzE-u90e_WKsb8Je-hAoFFOf2Vzz1eboGO74c6b0PFm-QUbIUl7YriP4RhmV0kHHU67KzU7txiKf9RY8/s1600/image003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGB7u0l7HmOqUP_dXr_W33mS05g5IWBjZN5KVS7YOzfmeb087-g_gZi6kMyO0XzE-u90e_WKsb8Je-hAoFFOf2Vzz1eboGO74c6b0PFm-QUbIUl7YriP4RhmV0kHHU67KzU7txiKf9RY8/s1600/image003.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">The report’s Enabling Trade Index indicates that the world’s large emerging economies face enormous challenges as they seek to enable trade and progress to the next stage of their development. Barriers to trade are holding back the global economic recovery. Many governments are still failing to enact sometimes-straightforward reforms that could have a far-reaching effect on growth and social progress, according to The Global Enabling Trade Report (GETR).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Pakistan has been ranked at 114 among the 138 countries being evaluated on the Global Trade Enabling Index of the World Economic Forum. There are number of challenges in Pakistan’s economy which effects country’s performance on Global Enabling Trade Index. However despite challenging environment Pakistan offers relatively efficient border administration systems for enabling trade with Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">“Pakistan’s performance on the four sub-indices is also reflective of its integration into the global trade, where Pakistan has been ranked as 128 on Market Access, 71 on Border Administration, 95 on the Transport and Communications Infrastructure and 123 on the Business Environment”, this was revealed by Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, a country partner institute of the World Economic Forum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">“After several difficult years trying to advance the Doha Round, the Bali package, with the Trade Facilitation Agreement at its centre, provides a much-needed window to focus on eliminating the practical obstacles to trade. In this light, we believe the report’s unique measurements will help leaders to identify successful policies and areas for improvement,” said Espen Barth Eide, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">In the SAARC region, Pakistan outperformed Bangladesh and Nepal at 115 and 116 respectively on the Global Trade Enabling Index but lacked behind Sri Lanka (84), India (96) and Bhutan (107).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Among the BRICs, China, the world’s largest exporter, ranks 54th out of 138 economies, a few notches ahead of South Africa (59th). Brazil (86th), India (96th) and the Russian Federation (105th) achieve disappointing performances, appearing in the bottom half of the ranking. Turkey (56th) leads the MINT group, ahead of Indonesia (58th) and Mexico (61st). Nigeria (124th) is near the bottom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">Common barriers to trade in the developing and emerging world include red tape at borders, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and low levels of security. Among advanced economies, most apply low import tariffs, but some, such as Switzerland, Norway and EU members, have complex tariff regimes that are hard to navigate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">The good news is that some of these barriers, such as inefficiencies related to border clearance, can be removed relatively quickly, at a low cost and using limited political capital. The Report points to a number of success stories ranging from Chile (8th), to Malaysia (25th) and Mauritius (29th) that have been able to considerably improve their standing through targeted reforms and investments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 assesses the performance of 138 economies, in four areas: market access; border administration; infrastructure; and the operating environment. At the top end of the scale, the Index shows Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, and the Netherlands as the most successful countries in terms of enabling trade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">The assessment is based on the Enabling Trade Index, a methodology that measures the extent to which economies have in place institutions, policies, infrastructures and services facilitating the free flow of goods over borders and to their destination. These trade-enabling factors are organized in seven pillars: 1) domestic market access; 2) foreign market access; 3) efficiency and transparency of border administration; 4) availability and quality of transport infrastructure; 5) availability and quality of transport services; 6) availability and use of ICTs; and 7) operating environment. For this fifth edition of the report, the framework has been improved and enriched with a number of new indicators.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">To measure these various aspects, a total of 56 individual indicators were sourced from various international organizations, including the International Trade Centre, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Bank, as well as World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey. The Executive Opinion Survey is done by Mishal Pakistan in close collaboration with WEF in Pakistan. Other data partners include the Global Express Association.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">These findings will be discussed at a special session at the World Economic Forum on Latin America, which takes place in Panama, 1-3 April.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Global Enabling Trade Report 2014 is part of the World Economic Forum’s Enabling Trade programme, supported by the Forum’s Supply Chain & Transport Industry Partnership community, which includes A.P. Möller Maersk, AB Volvo, Agility, Brambles Limited, Brightstar Corp., Deutsche Post DHL, DNB ASA, Emirates Group, International Container Terminal Services Inc., Royal Vopak, Stena AB, Swiss International Airlines Ltd, Transnet SOC Ltd, UPS and Volkswagen AG</span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Islamabad, Pakistan33.7293882 73.09314610000001333.5179702 72.770422600000018 33.940806200000004 73.415869600000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-48302733861448582542014-03-05T22:30:00.000-08:002014-03-06T04:00:50.521-08:00Mishal to Conduct Nationwide Survey to Measure Pakistan’s Global Competitiveness Ranking for 2014-2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 27pt; letter-spacing: -0.75pt;">Mishal to Conduct Nationwide Survey to Measure Pakistan’s Global Competitiveness Ranking for 2014-2015<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt;">The World Economic Forum in partnership with Mishal will conduct the Executive Opinion Surveys across Pakistan</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt;">.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 22pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;">The World Economic Forum in partnership with Mishal Pakistan will conduct the Executive Opinion Survey 2014 in Pakistan beginning in March 2014.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The Executive Opinion Survey, “The Voice of the Business Community” is a major component of <i>The Global Competitiveness Report</i> and provides the key ingredient that turns the Report into a representative annual measure of a nation’s economic environment and its ability to achieve sustained growth. The Survey gathers valuable information on a broad range of variables for which hard data sources are scarce or nonexistent. High-level business executives operating in Pakistan will be surveyed to capture their opinion on the business environment in which they operate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">The</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"> <i>Global Competitiveness Report </i>has been the World Economic Forum’s flagship publication since 1979 and is widely recognized as the world’s leading cross-country comparison of factors affecting economic competitiveness and growth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">A sample of company executives in Pakistan will be asked to complete this important and confidential survey. Mr. Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan notes that it is vitally important that each executive sampled complete the survey to ensure that Pakistan has accurate and reliable data in the Report. The report for 2014-2015 is expected to be issues in the Q4 of 2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">Established in 2003, Mishal Pakistan is the Partner Institute of the Global Competitiveness & Benchmarking Network, World Economic Forum. As a partner institute Mishal is working on measuring Pakistan’s performance on multiple international indices and reports including the Global Competitiveness Index/Report, Global Gender Gap Index, Global Enabling Trade Index, Global Information Technology Report - Network Readiness Index, Financial Development Index and the Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.</span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Islamabad, Pakistan33.7293882 73.09314610000001333.5179702 72.770422600000018 33.940806200000004 73.415869600000008tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-85462663692618937142013-09-04T12:05:00.000-07:002013-09-04T12:07:02.953-07:00Pakistan slips on the Global Competitiveness Ranking to 133 in 2013-14 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pakistan fails to address its security challenges and business risks -
slipping competitiveness ranking to 133.</span></b></h2>
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">nstitutions and innovation increasingly important for competitiveness</span></b></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Excellent innovation and strong institutional environments are increasingly
influencing economies’ competitiveness, according to </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014</i><span style="font-family: Arial;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Innovation becomes even more critical in terms of an
economy’s ability to foster future prosperity,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and
Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “I predict that the traditional
distinction between countries being ‘developed’ or ‘less developed’ will
gradually disappear and we will instead refer to them much more in terms of
being ‘innovation rich’ vs. ‘innovation poor’ countries. It is therefore vital
that leaders from business, government and civil society work collaboratively
to create education systems and enable environments which foster innovation.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal
Pakistan, a partner institute of the WEF, in his findings said that “Pakistan
needs to focus on competitiveness or the economy can slide into a
dangerous downward spiral. The road to economic recovery will be difficult if
Pakistan fails to address its security challenges and business risks.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_YiZ3DGdCDSYPLv7cphxeSx-3X5Q1PvEtkkv6g4NrtvZ7O1SQCJsbnjsxCa0W2_xEmsDv_x3AeNs_QR-1P6kfS5IZ6c-hc4kVRpIEwLnh3_c9WKz4jef1Fo_6U_Qc-tjrnDcy311EDg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-04+at+11.53.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_YiZ3DGdCDSYPLv7cphxeSx-3X5Q1PvEtkkv6g4NrtvZ7O1SQCJsbnjsxCa0W2_xEmsDv_x3AeNs_QR-1P6kfS5IZ6c-hc4kVRpIEwLnh3_c9WKz4jef1Fo_6U_Qc-tjrnDcy311EDg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-04+at+11.53.07+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan has slipped down to 133 rank among 148
countries on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum,
announced in the Global Competitiveness Report 2013-14. Pakistan was ranked at
124 in 2012-13 and 118 in 2011-12. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The gradual slipping of
Pakistan’s rank shows weakening of its institutions and capacity of the economy
to create space for innovation. The areas of public and private partnerships
for cooperation for improving competitiveness are also diminishing as well.
This indicates increasing mistrust between the public and the private sector
due to increase corruption and policy instability issues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The report has included the
views of more than 14000 business leaders globally to measure the
competitiveness of 148 countries. More than 200 business leaders in Pakistan,
identified corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business,
followed by policy instability, access to financing, inadequate supply of
infrastructure, inefficient government bureaucracy and high inflation as some
of the areas identified in the GCR.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBk2KNEfE0B5_fgQaLtHy7fEadcp4QWLQG2o8uppiRBJCNW1SOTVFU30ehsbVmQElZ12co9Tmxx7ERzuO6tS5RMNUfa3AGP_9gBAWhiWogFnkDMB4L0CwGKjPSzwV-lTtXB3TI4QMEsqU/s1600/GCR_Infographic_SouthSoutheastAsia_2013-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBk2KNEfE0B5_fgQaLtHy7fEadcp4QWLQG2o8uppiRBJCNW1SOTVFU30ehsbVmQElZ12co9Tmxx7ERzuO6tS5RMNUfa3AGP_9gBAWhiWogFnkDMB4L0CwGKjPSzwV-lTtXB3TI4QMEsqU/s640/GCR_Infographic_SouthSoutheastAsia_2013-2014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan has lost on almost
all indicators of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI); an in-depth analysis
on each pillar has been discussed below:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyDHhtcqw-4Mbodtd_M6H_7WGtEHhuRjM2FYHjf8FnGVnq0JK00grHw7aDU0A1cPndP44UhsW1AaCxwhqlNP06FyU4MEQXzoebF9c9vaMiHRqMdaW5E4m98zRNfQhlgreM0_byFenSjM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-04+at+11.53.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyDHhtcqw-4Mbodtd_M6H_7WGtEHhuRjM2FYHjf8FnGVnq0JK00grHw7aDU0A1cPndP44UhsW1AaCxwhqlNP06FyU4MEQXzoebF9c9vaMiHRqMdaW5E4m98zRNfQhlgreM0_byFenSjM/s640/Screen+Shot+2013-09-04+at+11.53.45+PM.png" width="385" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">1<sup>st</sup> Pillar: Institutions</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Global Competitiveness
Report 2013-14 shows that, Pakistan has shown poor performance on governments’
use of diversion of public funds from 76 in 2012 to 103 in 2013. It further
states that the wastefulness in government spending has also increased and the
rankings have dropped from 96 last year’s to 116 this year. Similarly the
burden of government regulation has also deteriorated from 62 to 82 in 2012 and
2013 respectively. The efficiency of legal framework in challenging
regulations, which means, how easy is it for private businesses to challenge
government actions and/or regulations through the legal system has fallen 11
points since last year and ranks at 108 this year. This depicts a SRO culture
has been prevalent in the country for economic decision making instead of
legislations through legal frameworks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The businesses in Pakistan
has also shown reluctance in improving the efficacy of corporate boards by
fallen to 123 in 2013 from 111 in 2012. However the regulator on the securities
market has shown improvements in terms of and protection of minority
shareholders’ interest from 83 in 2012 to 73 this year. Pakistan has
maintained its competitiveness advantage in the region by securing the rank at
31 this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The biggest impact on the
pillar of institutions has been due to law and order and Pakistan’s fight in
the war on terror, where Pakistan ranks among the least 10 in the world;
business cost of terrorism 144, business cost of crime and violence 138 and
organized crime 141 among 148 countries globally. Pakistan has shown
improvements on judicial independence, improving from 57 to 55.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">2<sup>nd</sup> Pillar: Infrastructure</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The overall infrastructure
in the country has deteriorated from last year, where Pakistan stands at 119 as
compared to 105 last year among 148 countries. Quality of air transport (88)
lost 10 points this year, however the scheduled available airline seat
kilometers per week originating in country is where Pakistan has a competitiveness
advantage securing 46 out of 148 countries, this depicts the governments policy
to open airspace to airlines however poor performance at the part of the Civil
Aviation Authority in Pakistan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">3<sup>rd</sup> Pillar: Macroeconomic Environment </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Government’s budget balance
% of GDP has fallen to an alarming 138 place as compared to 125 last year;
similarly the gross national savings has also dropped to 125 from 107 in 2013
and 2012 respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">4<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Health and Primary
Education </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although Pakistan has lost
five points on the Health and Primary Education pillar from 117 in 2012 to 128
in 2013, the country has been successful in improving its ranking on business
impact of tuberculosis 120 to 114, business impact of HIV/AIDS 106 to 97 and
HIV prevalence as percentage of population 12 to 11 in 2012 to 2013
respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">5<sup>th</sup> Pillar Higher Education and Training</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan showed improvements
on the tertiary education enrolment indicator, where it moved to 121 this year
from 125 in the last year. While the quality of Math and Science education
dropped to an alarming 104 in 2013 from 88 in 2012, the extent of staff
training has gone from bad to worst this year by securing the rank of 128.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">6<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Good Market Efficiency</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">On goods market efficiency
pillar, the extent of market dominance has lost 12 points from 65 to 77, the
effectiveness of the anti-monopoly policy has decreased from 75 to 85 and the
effect of taxation on incentives to investment from 72 to 82 in this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The buyer sophistication has
also declined from 78 to 88 in 2013, indicating a more price conscious business
environment instead of quality, thus creating more space for imports from other
countries for large consumptions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The intensity of local
competition has improved ranking from 85 to 79 this year, in addition to
improving prevalence of trade barriers from 114 from 92 this year. However the
country was successful to improve the extent of rules and regulations to
encourage or discourage foreign direct investments, thus improving the business
impact of rules on FDI and securing the 75 rank this year as compared to 96
last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">7<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Labor Market Efficiency </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Labor Market Efficiency
pillar has shown insights into the human resource face of the economy, the
cooperation in labor-employer relations have worsened in the last one year from
90 to 105, similarly, the hiring and firing practices have slipped down from 21
to 35 this year, although keeping a competitiveness advantage in the region.
The pay and productivity indicator has also fallen from 73 in 2012 to 86 in
2013. Pakistan is also among the worst
countries to include women in its workforce, ranked at 144 among the 148
countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">8<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Financial Market Development</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Both the financial market
regulators have shown great improvements, while the incumbent regulator of the
securities market, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has shown
significant improvements this year, improving seven points and securing the
rank of 48 on the regulations of securities exchanges from 55 last year; the
State Bank of Pakistan has also shown solid improvements in the soundness of
the banking sector in the country. Improving to 71 this year to 85 in the last
year. However this gain has not able to improve the constantly declining the
state of venture capital in Pakistan, slipping down to 77.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">9<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Technological Readiness</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan has shown
significance gains on the technical readiness pillar, with the availability of
latest technologies (79), firm-level technology absorption (81). Improvements
in the international Internet bandwidth has been a catalyst for businesses to
move towards a more knowledge-based economy, with ranks gaining from 108 last
year to 101 this year. While the mobile broadband subscriptions per 100
population has fallen from 121 to 126.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">10<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Market Size</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan is maintaining its
regional competitiveness advantage on the domestic market size index at 27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">11<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Business Sophistication</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The businesses have shown
restrain on delegation of authority, shown corporate insecurity from large
investors to professional managements, especially in the family owned
businesses, the rank fell from 94 in 2012 to 122 in 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">12<sup>th</sup> Pillar: Innovation</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan has shown
improvements on capacity for innovation by improving 11 points and securing
regional competitiveness advantage at 49. While the quality of scientific
research institutions 75 and company spending on research and development 75
have been on the loss. The university-industry collaboration for research and
development has been declined from 81 to 98, making industry depend on
replicating instead of creating new products and services. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The report’s Global Competitiveness Index
(GCI) places Switzerland at the top of the ranking for the fifth year running.
Singapore and Finland remain in second and third positions respectively.
Germany moves up two places (4th) and the United States reverses a four-year
downward trend, climbing two places to fifth. Hong Kong SAR (7th) and Japan
(9th) also close the gap on the most competitive economies, while Sweden (6th),
the Netherlands (8th) and the United Kingdom (10th) fall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The United States continues to be a world leader in
bringing innovative products and services to market. Its rise in the ranking is
down to a perceived improvement in the country’s financial market as well as
greater confidence in its public institutions. However, serious concerns
persist over its macroeconomic stability, which ranks 117 out of 148 economies.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Among the <b>Asian
economies</b>, Indonesia jumps to 38th, making it the most improved of the G20
economies since 2006, while Korea (25th) falls by six places. Behind Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Japan and
Taiwan (China) (12th) all remain in the top 20. Developing Asian nations
display very mixed performances and trends: Malaysia places 24th while
countries such as Nepal (117th), Pakistan (133rd) and Timor-Leste (138th) are near the bottom of the ranking. Bhutan (109th),
Lao PDR (81st) and Myanmar (139th) join the index for the first time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Xavier Sala-i-Martin,
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Professor of
Economics, Columbia University, USA</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial;">, said: “The<i> </i>report<i> </i>highlights a shift in the narrative of
the global economy from one year ago, when fire-fighting still characterized
much of global and regional economic policy. This has now given way to an
increasing urgency for leaders to make wide-ranging structural reforms to their
economies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-84686646381606251782013-07-05T12:13:00.001-07:002013-07-05T12:13:54.724-07:00Mapping Digital Media: Pakistan<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><img alt="mapping-digital-media-pakistan-featured-20130702" class="size-medium wp-image-2669 alignleft" height="300" src="http://i2.wp.com/mishal.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/mapping-digital-media-pakistan-featured-20130702.jpg?resize=300%2C300" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; display: inline; float: left; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; margin: 5px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The first ever report on Mapping Digital Media on Pakistan was launched today here in Islamabad. Huma Yusuf, a senior journalist and lead author of the report, presented her findings. The event was attended by leading journalists, media practitioners and representatives from the regulatory bodies, civil society and researchers from academia.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="more-2668" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>The report describes Pakistan’s evolving media landscape, with focus on key areas, including changes in media consumption patterns; the role of public service media; growing internet access and online engagement; the impact of new media technologies on journalism practices; spectrum utilisation and media licensing; the media industry’s financial model; and existing media policies and regulations.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Huma Yusuf, international media researcher and author of the report, shared her views on the report and said; “There has been a proliferation in broadcast media outlets since deregulation in 2002 and a phenomenal expansion of Pakistan’s telecommunications and information communication technology sphere. The country has great potential for media to grow, inform and play an important democratising role in the age of digital convergence. However, the media’s potential could be undermined by the industry’s infrastructure, regulatory weaknesses, and an overall lack of awareness of the media’s role in a democratic set-up”. “We are sure that the stakeholders in Pakistan will greatly benefit from this extensive research”, she added.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The launch of the report on Pakistan is part of the global Mapping Digital Media project, which examines the changes in-depth, aims to build bridges between researchers and policymakers, activists, academics and standard-setters across the world. It also builds policy capacity in countries where this is less developed, encouraging stakeholders to participate in and influence change. At the same time, this research creates a knowledge base, laying foundations for advocacy work, building capacity and enhancing debate.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">On the occasion, Marius Dragomir, senior manager and global publications editor for the media program at the Open Society Foundations, said, “the Pakistan Report completes the 44th segment in the global mapping digital media project. As such it offers a unique opportunity for comparative research that puts Pakistan’s media evolution in an international context.”. He further said, the Media Program of the Open Society Foundations has seen how changes and continuity affect the media in different places, redefining the way they can operate sustainably while staying true to values of pluralism and diversity, transparency and accountability, editorial independence, freedom of expression and information, public service, and high professional standards.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mapping Digital Media project assesses, in the light of local values, the global opportunities and risks that are created for media by aspects impacting media developments such as, the switch-over from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting; growth of new media platforms as sources of news; convergence of traditional broadcasting with telecommunications.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Covering 60 countries, the project examines how these changes affect the core democratic service that any media system should provide—news about political, economic and social affairs.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">Local researchers and partner organizations in each country produce the Mapping Digital Media reports. Cumulatively, these reports will provide a much-needed resource on the democratic role of digital media.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">In addition to the country reports, the Open Society Media Program has commissioned research papers on a range of topics related to digital media. These papers are published as the MDM Reference Series.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #757474; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; line-height: 18px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">The complete Mapping Digital Media: Pakistan report can be downloaded from the Open Society Institute’s website: <a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/mapping-digital-media-pakistan" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #008706; font-size: 11.818181991577148px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/reports/mapping-digital-media-pakistan</a></div>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-54620531981923322392013-05-09T04:09:00.004-07:002013-05-09T05:38:18.335-07:00Credibility Lab Launched in Pakistan for Research on Media and Competitiveness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: small; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 18.18181800842285px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mishal Pakistan Launches “Credibility Lab” for Research on Media and Competitiveness</b></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: xx-small; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 12.727272033691406px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Credibility Lab to adopt the Triple Helix model to develop and launch the Media Credibility Index for Ethical Journalism in Pakistan</span></span></h3>
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<a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/">Mishal Pakistan</a> launches the Credibility Lab, an initiative to create new frameworks and methodologies to measure current trends and indices on Media Ethics, Journalism Standards, Media Credibility and Rankings to be measured on international benchmarks.</div>
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The Credibility Lab among other areas will be working on models to improve more creative interactions between the Triple Helix players.</div>
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The Credibility Lab will also be working to explore the potential for innovation and economic development in a Knowledge-based Society, which lies in a more prominent role for the university and the hybridisation of elements from University, industry and Government to generate new institutional and social formats for the production, transfer and application of knowledge.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV_o-A76dH-MMEkfaVaZHdfzIp1Qjz5L0kGuli_mQorLF56CZWuAoqRKfC5uJiWaANYpshNjyoqOlFKQeZcHfG6Bx9QAyNrg13B1zDWt7SUwXV6n9N_-m9n6usllMLT6BDdPui-jmiqk/s1600/Indicators+Icon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV_o-A76dH-MMEkfaVaZHdfzIp1Qjz5L0kGuli_mQorLF56CZWuAoqRKfC5uJiWaANYpshNjyoqOlFKQeZcHfG6Bx9QAyNrg13B1zDWt7SUwXV6n9N_-m9n6usllMLT6BDdPui-jmiqk/s640/Indicators+Icon.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Six Pillars of Media Credibility Index</td></tr>
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Mishal Pakistan’s Credibility Lab will work as a knowledge sharing for the experts from the industry, academia and policy makers. The Credibility lab will be working with more than 10 research-academic institutions, specializing in journalism studies and media sciences across Pakistan, a similar number of international universities and media development institutions will be partnering with Mishal Pakistan on this initiative.</div>
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The Credibility Lab at Mishal will be undertaking new initiatives in this year i.e. the Media Credibility Index (MCI), an initiative started in January 2013 in collaboration with leading research institutions across Pakistan and international journalism and media academics and practitioners. The Media Credibility Index focuses on the relative credibility and believability of various media channels through which content is created.</div>
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First time in Pakistan a media credibility index will be developed after an extensive examination of media laws, ethics, rules and regulations drafted by different media groups, regulatory bodies and journalistic organizations both at national as well as international arena. The MCI will explore the state of media in Pakistan against six media credibility indicators and 20 sub-indices.</div>
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Mishal has incorporated more than thirty code of conducts, ethical code and journalism principles, which include currently prevalent seven national code of conducts and twenty four international code of ethics from international regulatory bodies, country code of conducts and agreed journalistic codes of ethics across the globe.</div>
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Codes of Ethics framed by Pakistani media groups have also being included such as Jang group’s Geo Asool, Dunya’s code of ethics, Express group’s journalism code of conduct and Dawn Group’s principles and code of conduct.</div>
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After reviewing the principles of journalism and codes of ethics for journalists; six media credibility indicators with 20 sub-indices have been developed in order to measure the media discourse and credibility of current affair content in Pakistan. This extensive study entails thirty-five current affair programs of the mainstream Pakistani news channels.</div>
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The Credibility Lab, through its activities will further strengthen the Triple Helix concept, which relies on three main ideas: (1) a more prominent role for the University in creating new though and research processes, on a par with Industry and Government in the Knowledge Society; (2) a movement toward collaborative relationships among the three major institutional spheres, in which information and knowledge policy is increasingly an outcome of interaction rather than a prescription from Government; (3) in addition to fulfilling their traditional functions, each institutional sphere also “takes the role of the other” performing new roles as well as their traditional function.</div>
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The Credibility Lab will be publishing its research in collaboration with its partners on periodic basis on the state of media and competitiveness in Pakistan.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/">Mishal Pakistan</a> is the partner institute of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks, <a href="http://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum</a>. Mishal assists the forum in creating the soft-data on Pakistan, identifying Pakistan’s competitiveness challenges. Mishal has also launched Pakistan’s first journalism awards on the framework designed jointly with the Center for International Media Ethics and UNESCO’s Media Development Indicators.</div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-90546319541635894522013-04-26T05:49:00.001-07:002013-04-26T07:08:06.308-07:00World Intellectual Property Rights Day 2013 and Pakistan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pakistan Needs to Improve its framework on Intellectual
Property Protection</span></h2>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">On the World
Intellectual Property Rights Day 2013, </span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/">MishalPakistan</a>, a country partner institute of the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness">Global Competitiveness andBenchmarking Network</a> of the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum</a> shared the State of IPR in
Pakistan.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The country</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> is not being able to improve the
environment to protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). Pakistan is
showing substantial </span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">deterioration on the
indicators to improve the IPR, Pakistan now stands at 106 among 144 countries
on Intellectual Property Protection, as compared to 86 in 2010. The trend shows
20% decline in IP protection in the country, announced Mishal sharing the data
on IPR from the <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2012-2013/">Global Competitiveness Report </a>of the World Economic Forum.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the
other hand, an enabling framework required to create intellectual asset in the
system continues to perform poor. The capacity of research institutions and private
sector spending on scientific research and development has been stagnant for
the past three years. This is causing the country to lose its competitiveness by
not being able to create implementation mechanism for the citizens to protect
their intellectual property.</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
University-Industry Collaboration is also a matter of concern in Pakistan as
more emphasis is being put on non-research initiatives or research in isolation
from the industry. This also indicates that the businesses in Pakistan are not
benefiting from the R&D being done in academic and research institutions across
the country, resulting in lack of indigenous solutions for the local and
international challenges. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although
Pakistan has shown improvements on the number of applications filed under the
</span><a href="http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/articles/atoc.htm" style="font-family: inherit;">Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> per million populations, where Pakistan stands
at 88 among 144 countries globally, a thirty percent improvement as compared to
2010.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The
recent developments and initiatives by the </span><a href="http://www.hec.gov.pk/" style="font-family: inherit;">Higher Education Commission ofPakistan</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to encourage academia and research institutions to file for patents
has resulted in more applications filed for patents in the country, however the
lack of expertise and understanding about new ideas and innovations at the
</span><a href="http://www.ipo.gov.pk/" style="font-family: inherit;">Intellectual Property Organization (IPO)</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> has hampered IPR activities in the
country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pakistan
adopted the </span><a href="http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1349842758_779.pdf" style="font-family: inherit;">Intellectual Property Rights Act</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in December last year, which
protects the Intellectual Property Rights including copyrights, trademarks,
patents, designs, lay-out designs of integrated circuits, trade secrets and
other intellectual property laws; supported by other laws are powerful tools
for economic growth. The protection of these and similar intellectual property
rights of the citizens is essential to foster creative thinking, stimulate
creativity, provide incentives for technological innovations, and attract
investment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">An
increase in patent filing and lack of capacity of IPO to decide on patent
declarations can create a serious situation for IPR appreciation in the
country, said </span><a href="http://www.amirjahangir.com/" style="font-family: inherit;">Amir Jahangir</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, CEO of </span><a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/" style="font-family: inherit;">Mishal Pakistan</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Intellectual property
protection is important for recognizing and respecting creative and
intellectual work in a knowledge-based society.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">Mishal Pakistan is the partner institute of the Global
Competitiveness and Benchmarking Networks, World Economic Forum. Mishal assists
the forum in creating the soft-data on Pakistan, identifying Pakistan’s
competitiveness challenges. </span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com1Islamabad, Pakistan33.718151 73.06054700000004233.506713 72.737823500000047 33.929589 73.383270500000037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-8255370873788325542013-04-10T07:02:00.000-07:002013-04-11T06:11:19.813-07:00Pakistan Ranks at 105 on World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt;">Pakistan Ranks at 105 among 144 countries on World
Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9HC53gjFLRKT6Rn05zfUp1CXiNQ7BWlQDm75kxVAmzmgZ_TQFA0RRzzlzScMeqUYtKytzzregvkrZnw8dOeUjzYp_uEdJmZ1D4mNzNaQcsNkzzU2YJSEoAO6zj9MxeRfm4fbvDZ0OJU/s1600/image003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9HC53gjFLRKT6Rn05zfUp1CXiNQ7BWlQDm75kxVAmzmgZ_TQFA0RRzzlzScMeqUYtKytzzregvkrZnw8dOeUjzYp_uEdJmZ1D4mNzNaQcsNkzzU2YJSEoAO6zj9MxeRfm4fbvDZ0OJU/s1600/image003.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Despite
efforts in the past decade to improve information and communications
technologies (ICT) infrastructure in developing economies, there remains a new
digital divide in how countries harness ICT to deliver competitiveness and
well-being, according to the 12th edition of <i>The Global Information
Technology Report</i>, released today by the World Economic Forum.</span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Published under the theme, Growth
and Jobs in a Hyperconnected World, the <i>Report<span style="color: blue;"> </span></i>suggests
that national policies in some developing economies are failing to translate
ICT investment into tangible benefits in terms of competitiveness, development and
employment. This is in addition to the profound digital divide that already
exists between advanced and developing economies in access to digital
infrastructure and content.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Pakistan continues to lag behind in
the rankings. Unable to achieve a sustained rapid economic growth may put Pakistan’s
ICT-competitiveness in jeopardy unless the right investments are made in ICT,
skills and innovation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGMkag8Ik5ZI9Shl7GK1RX8V1_l882OTc5ceaqIwv4BEf2mlsjuH8ibJu38_wmtJAu4_1ov-wtNxgzFtGh3Fti1Z10LQipdarRtdx6DA0keylq7QPRg9pgR_rL3L2RlIgY7_Not7Vf5c/s1600/Amir+Jahangir+WEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGMkag8Ik5ZI9Shl7GK1RX8V1_l882OTc5ceaqIwv4BEf2mlsjuH8ibJu38_wmtJAu4_1ov-wtNxgzFtGh3Fti1Z10LQipdarRtdx6DA0keylq7QPRg9pgR_rL3L2RlIgY7_Not7Vf5c/s200/Amir+Jahangir+WEF.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><a href="http://www.amirjahangir.com/">Amir Jahangir</a>, Chief Executive Officer
of Mishal Pakistan, a partner institute of</span><span style="font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Global
Competitiveness & Benchmarking Network of the World Economic Forum </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">said, “As other countries are improving rapidly, Pakistan has shown little change, this is a matter of concern. Pakistan is 37 ranks behind</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">India. The big challenge for the next government in Pakistan
would be to put more emphasize on ICT environment and regulatory framework. The
role of ICT for sustained economic growth and job creation is crucial to
improve Pakistan’s competitiveness". "ICT has revolutionized the way businesses
are done and the country has not being able to capitalize on this”, he further added.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oLwNK6XAeUpwhXfCc1APT0dvyPrlCLeB0cttF_YbvW2SntVnHiP-LR3_f6JQAW1xnM-RKyf_HbPX0g0ZaXfcoxNWV2yla9kO65tzXbXFYZHhA85khUGLnsDqGeAlEj3CmlH5A1ZrQZw/s1600/GITRPK2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oLwNK6XAeUpwhXfCc1APT0dvyPrlCLeB0cttF_YbvW2SntVnHiP-LR3_f6JQAW1xnM-RKyf_HbPX0g0ZaXfcoxNWV2yla9kO65tzXbXFYZHhA85khUGLnsDqGeAlEj3CmlH5A1ZrQZw/s640/GITRPK2013.jpg" width="404" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pakistan's Score on the Global Information Technology Report 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of the areas where Pakistan
lost its ICT competitiveness are; govt’s procurement of advance technologies,
which ranked 109 this year as compared to 91 in 2012. Although Pakistan has
improved the fixed broadband Internet tariff substantially by making Pakistan the 68<sup>th</sup> most competitive broadband provider in the world,
individuals using Internet, which depicts affordability of Internet for
citizens is shrinking. Pakistan lost 22 points in 2013 and ranks at 120 on
individuals using Internet. The report highlights that the gains in broadband
affordability are being achieved by cannibalizing the individual Internet
users.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;">Pakistan achieved
significant gains in the last decades, when it embraced the mobile technologies
and led the region by providing human resources capital and technical knowhow
to the global pool of mobile communication providers. However this gain has
been greatly diminished due to lack of advancements and inconsistency in
decision making to adopt new technologies at the right time. The Importance of
ICTs to govt’s vision has deteriorated from 92 to 117 in 2012 and 2013
respectively. Making ICT as one of the least priority areas for the govt. in
Pakistan. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">On the economic impact pillar,
Pakistan failed to show progress on creating im</span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">pact of ICTs on new
organizational models by losing 10 points (91). Keeping businesses in mostly
traditional areas and connecting Pakistan with the global knowledge economies.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Similarly, government’s failure to
create social impact through ICT also showcases it’s poor understanding of
innovation ecosystem and value creation for the citizens in the digital age. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">The government failed to create value through ICT use and improving efficiency,
where Pakistan lost an alarming 16 points (121 among 144 countries). Not being
able to improve any regulations on venture capital availability has also
created a bottleneck for an innovation economy in the country. This signifies
Pakistan’s lack of correlation between innovation and competitiveness with
finance, thus further isolating Pakistan from moving towards a knowledge-based economy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Pakistan also lost 15 points on the
E-participation index, where government engages citizens through online services
and grievance mechanism, thus resulting in stronger red-tapism slower economic
progress.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">On the overall political and
regulatory environment, the efficiency of legal system in challenging
regulations has also deteriorated, where Pakistan is ranked 97 as compared to
79 in 2013 and 2012 respectively. Intellectual property protection has also
been neglected and Pakistan lost 13 points by securing 103 on the network
readiness index.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Some of the areas where Pakistan has
shown improvements are on the business and innovation environment pillar, where
the business sector has ensured the availability of latest technologies for ICT
competitiveness by improving 10 points and securing 83 rank among 144
countries.</span></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="700" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://widgets.weforum.org/global-information-technology-report" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg-jp7moS3y-VOzst_yd99XLFoMEcMGcLjGi0ohQ77maGO857I0IV_fTT1GP7e6_ajgoGzsdJbkvKXp_XARw5HyBGBLfsUrWYSz0yDuhrl1ql3xnhpoxg_LfdYBqXZ61KGDbZLrkffoZKLNx28RzOEDbNJewBiCyntAN7S2Ux4IQ1J2Mbky_5w=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg-jp7moS3y-VOzst_yd99XLFoMEcMGcLjGi0ohQ77maGO857I0IV_fTT1GP7e6_ajgoGzsdJbkvKXp_XARw5HyBGBLfsUrWYSz0yDuhrl1ql3xnhpoxg_LfdYBqXZ61KGDbZLrkffoZKLNx28RzOEDbNJewBiCyntAN7S2Ux4IQ1J2Mbky_5w=" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">The </span><i style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Report</i><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">’s Networked
Readiness Index (NRI), which measures the capacity of 144 economies to leverage
ICT for growth and well-being, finds Finland (1st), Singapore (2nd) and Sweden
(3rd) take the top three places. The Netherlands (4th), Norway (5th),
Switzerland (6th), the United Kingdom (7th), Denmark (8th), the United States
(9th), and Taiwan, China (10th) complete the top 10.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">“This analysis shows how matching
investments in ICT with investment in skills and innovation can help economies
cross a ‘magic threshold’, beyond which return on investment increases
significantly,” said </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/centres/elab/team/documents/BRUNOLANVIN1_000.pdf">Bruno Lanvin</a></span><span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">,
Executive Director of the e-Lab at INSEAD and co-editor of the report.
“Individual countries need to identify what separates them from reaching that
threshold if they have not reached it yet in order to </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">fulfill</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> long- term growth,
competitiveness and innovation targets” he added.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<img border="0" height="0" src="http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.11NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEzNjU2NjY3OTE5MjcmcHQ9MTM2NTY2Njc5NjI*MCZwPSZkPSZnPTImbz1hZjcyYzlkMzQ4YWI*NDc5OTlhNmE3NTlk/NTdlMjU2ZCZvZj*w.gif" style="height: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px;" width="0" /><object allowfullscreen="true" allownetworking="all" allowscriptaccess="always" data="http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_mba08c0h/uiconf_id/5148671" height="400" id="kaltura_player_1365666785" name="kaltura_player_1365666785" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_mba08c0h/uiconf_id/5148671"/><param name="flashVars" value=""/><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com">video platform</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/video_platform/video_management">video management</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/solutions/video_solution">video solutions</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/video_platform/video_publishing">video player</a></object>
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQoT_6PrUkyvBxaVhShG-kdw_88utfZ1EqjOpD8F_LODCN6uxsZ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQoT_6PrUkyvBxaVhShG-kdw_88utfZ1EqjOpD8F_LODCN6uxsZ" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">“ICT’s role in supporting economic
growth and the creation of high-quality jobs has never come under such
scrutiny. Despite initial concerns that ICT would hasten the deployment of
resources towards developing countries, the benefits of ICT are now widely
recognized as an important way for companies and economies to optimize
productivity, free up resources and boost innovation and job creation” said
<a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2011-12/26.GCR2011-2012AbouttheAuthors.pdf">Beñat Bilbao-Osorio</a>, Economist, Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking
Network, World Economic Forum, and co-editor of the report.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTyOW4c-HsMv2tFGFQ4UyPG6_kKj8jLAQ7XCSw-v5ParZq0EuwW" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTyOW4c-HsMv2tFGFQ4UyPG6_kKj8jLAQ7XCSw-v5ParZq0EuwW" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Against this backdrop, “countries
need tools to measure and track progress and the report has become the most
comprehensive and respected international assessment, providing policy-makers,
business leaders and civil society at large with a useful tool for designing
national strategies for increased networked readiness and for benchmarking
their country’s performance against other relevant comparators” said </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty-and-research/profile.aspx?id=sd599">Soumitra Dutta</a>, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">Anne and Elmer
Lindseth Dean at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at
Cornell University and co-editor of the report.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiEUzxyI7dDOQjRkMrhyphenhyphen0PRADusMNeFbkFiyBhX-KwrZeHd2LRcStoPo69WfRVfl2Y2ieiiOIU-8XlDysFsoxiRbJedIEKZIDpZFiXjbcgZAaV9Tymmwdc1U5VHGOT-z7Tu23WE0XH4puligNRFnvMjlbB0Qmi63aCxWleLRUNp=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiEUzxyI7dDOQjRkMrhyphenhyphen0PRADusMNeFbkFiyBhX-KwrZeHd2LRcStoPo69WfRVfl2Y2ieiiOIU-8XlDysFsoxiRbJedIEKZIDpZFiXjbcgZAaV9Tymmwdc1U5VHGOT-z7Tu23WE0XH4puligNRFnvMjlbB0Qmi63aCxWleLRUNp=" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">“Digitization created 6 million jobs
and added US$ 193 billion to the global economy in 2011. Although in aggregate
positive, the impact of digitization is not uniform across sectors and
economies – it creates and destroys jobs” said <a href="http://www.booz.com/me/home/foresight_management_consultants/thought_leaders/40353287/bahjat_eldarwiche">Bahjat El-Darwiche</a>, Partner,
Booz & Company and sponsor of the Report. He added that “policymakers
wishing to accentuate the positive impact of digitization need to understand
these different effects if they wish act as digital market makers in their
economies.”</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiLVV5eemHjtRrPMAKuAFcIXxRNtx2ZftLlkSY-MtXwSf_Yl_5Dg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiLVV5eemHjtRrPMAKuAFcIXxRNtx2ZftLlkSY-MtXwSf_Yl_5Dg" width="138" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">“This report demonstrates that
economies that fail to implement comprehensive national broadband strategies
risk losing ground in global competitiveness and may fall behind in the delivery
of societal benefits from ICTs. Plans that incorporate both supply and
demand-side measures offer countries the best opportunity to advance broadband
adoption," said <a href="http://www.osab.org.uk/members/dr-robert-pepper.html">Dr. Robert Pepper</a>, Vice President for Global Technology
Policy, Cisco and sponsor of the report. "</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">The Network Readiness Index (NRI) uses a combination of data
from publicly available sources and the results of the Executive Opinion
Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the Forum in collaboration
with partner institutes. This Survey of more than 15,000 executives provides
insight into areas critical for networked readiness.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;">The World Economic Forum is an independent
international organization committed to improving the state of the world by
engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape
global, regional and industry agendas.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;">Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971
and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is tied to no political,
partisan or national interests.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
</div>
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</w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 21.0pt;">Pakistan improves
3 Ranks on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 of the World Economic
Forum. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvkqfOM-BWk3-VCaCQijj59y3cmi3MfmCve4QGWffFo5NrS27nYx7NIPlKZxCVnPm0B4pJ4KbQgJNpo5UMqtRInT-lQAPfFtxoyF5uvZXsJAJLVJ4ZrT5UmI_628cR_01Hr8HIVC28gI/s1600/T&T+C+Report.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPvkqfOM-BWk3-VCaCQijj59y3cmi3MfmCve4QGWffFo5NrS27nYx7NIPlKZxCVnPm0B4pJ4KbQgJNpo5UMqtRInT-lQAPfFtxoyF5uvZXsJAJLVJ4ZrT5UmI_628cR_01Hr8HIVC28gI/s320/T&T+C+Report.png" width="225" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 21.0pt;">WEF Travel & Tourism Report Focuses on Reducing
Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation. Analyzing, Pakistan’s performance
among 140 countries on the travel and tourism competitiveness index on a
biennial basis. </span></b><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan has shown slight improvement on the Travel and Tourism
Competitiveness Report 2013. The biennial report, published under the theme, </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">Reducing
Barriers to Economic Growth and Job Creation</i><span style="font-family: Arial;">, sees considerable movement in
the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index’s 14 pillars in terms of
Pakistan’s performance according to the fifth </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness Report</i><span style="font-family: Arial;">, released today by the World Economic Forum.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Amongst the areas, where Pakistan showed poor performance are policy
rules and regulations dropping ranking from 106 in 2011 to 120 this year and prioritizing
of travel & tourism, which secured 131 in 2013 as compared to 121 in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan showed improvements in the areas of human resources, where the
indices on education and training have improved to the rank of 125 this year to
134 in 2011, similarly availability of qualified labor showed an improvement of
79 in 2013 as compared to 100 in 2011, an indication of a return of skilled
labour force from middle east and other countries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Other area where policy, rules & regulations impacted Pakistan was
the business impact of rules on FDI ranking, which deteriorated from 73 in 2011
to 94 in 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The war on terror has impacted the countries travel and tourism
competitiveness, in terms of the safety and security pillar; Pakistan was
ranked at business costs of crime and violence (128), road traffic accidents/100,000
population (101) and business costs of terrorism (139).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pakistan showed lack of attention and prioritization of the travel and
tourism in 2011/12, ranking 131 out of 140. The poor performance of railways
and the quality of railroad infrastructure also deteriorated in the last two
years where Pakistan scored 65 this year as compared to 55 in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Government’s policy on the information technology and telecommunications
also showed lack of focus as the Report signifies that the ICT use for business-to-business
has dropped from 103 to 115 from 211 to 2013 respectively. The performance of
the regulatory body for ICT also showed an alarming figure, where Pakistan’s
lost 20 ranks in 2013 as of 119 as compared to 99 two years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In an effort to improve the revenue stream, governments in Pakistan have
also the mid-to-long term interest of the travel and tourism industry, the
price competitiveness in terms of the extent and effect of taxation the country
lost 23 ranks in the last two years and ranking on 68 now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The quality of education system showed an improvement by ranking 74 this
year as compared to 87 in 2011 among 140 countries globally. The country also
showed flexibility in hiring and firing practices, thus showing a
competitiveness advantage by securing the ranking of 21.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">On the cultural resources pillar, although Pakistan still maintains its
competitiveness advantage, Pakistan lost its ranking of 29 to 39 in 2011 and
2013 respectively on the no. of world heritage sites. Similarly Pakistan’s
position on number of international fairs and exhibitions at 88 in 2011 has
been dropped to 117. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, the country
partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance,
World Economic Forum said, that “the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index
covers 140 countries and uses a combination of data from publicly available
sources, international travel and tourism institutions and experts”. It also
incorporates the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive
annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum and its network of partner
institutes. Mishal being the country partner institute of the Center for Global
Competitiveness and Performance of the World Economic Forum works closely with
the Forum for data on Pakistan. The survey provides data on many qualitative
institutional and business environment issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As well as providing insight into how countries are fostering the
development of their travel & tourism industry, the report also offers a
snapshot on the health of the industry and its role in driving global economic
growth. With travel</span> <span style="font-family: Arial;">and tourism accounting for one
in 11 jobs globally, the report highlights that the industry has proven
resilient during the global economic downturn and can be a key factor in paving
the way for developing and emerging markets to diversify into higher value
economic activities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Switzerland, Germany and Austria lead the world in terms of their travel
and tourism industry competitiveness with Spain, the United Kingdom, the United
States, France, Canada, Sweden and Singapore completing the top 10. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Among developed economies, New Zealand and Japan improved strongly; the
former climbing to12th from 19th and the latter moving up eight positions to
14th. Emerging market economies reported mixed levels of progress, with India
being the only BRIC nation to move up in the rankings. In this category, rising
stars include Panama, climbing from 56th to 37th, and the Philippines, which
climbed from 94th to 82nd on the back of policy improvements supporting the
industry.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Industry resilience has been driven by the growth of the middle class
in emerging markets, although advanced economies too are displaying positive
momentum. Better policies, harnessing technology and facilitating the movement
of people over borders will allow the industry to capitalize on this tailwind
and support rising prosperity into the future,” said Jennifer Blanke, Chief
Economist and Head of the Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network at
the World Economic Forum.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">“The travel and tourism industry has weathered the global downturn and
is now playing an important role in helping tackle serious global challenges,
including youth unemployment, economic development and environmental
sustainability. The challenge for the industry and its stakeholders today is to
maintain this powerful contribution to economic growth and employment, while
continuing to proactively pursue the shared goals of facilitating global travel
and tourism and protecting host cultures, identities and environments,” said
Thea Chiesa, Director, Head of Aviation, Travel & Tourism Industries, World
Economic Forum.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The report’s cross-country analysis of the drivers of competitiveness in
travel and tourism provides comparative information that is useful in business
decision-making and supporting policies of governments wishing to improve their
travel and tourism environments.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In addition, the report includes contributions from industry experts.
Several chapters explore issues such as how visa facilitation can play a role
in stimulating economic growth; the importance for policy-makers to leverage
local competitive advantages to thrive in a volatile environment; the impact of
the tourism sector on employment creation; and how the connectivity that
aviation sector creates sustains economic development.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The report also contains detailed country profiles for the 140 economies
featured in the study, including a comprehensive summary of their overall
positions in the Index and a guide to the most prominent travel and tourism
competitive advantages and disadvantages of each. Also included is an extensive
section of data tables covering each indicator used in the Index’s computation.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The World Economic Forum produced the report in close collaboration with
its Strategic Design Partner, Booz & Company, and its Data Partners, which
include Deloitte, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), Mishal Pakistan and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The
Forum also received important feedback from Industry Partners in the effort,
namely Airbus/EADS, BAE Systems, Bahrain Economic Development Board,
Bombardier, Delta, Deutsche Lufthansa/Swiss, Embraer, Etihad Airways, Jet
Airways, Hilton, Lockheed Martin, Marriott, Safran, Starwood Hotels &
Resorts and VISA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization
committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political,
academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry
agendas.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Incorporated as a not-for-profit foundation in 1971 and headquartered in
Geneva, Switzerland, the Forum is tied to no political, partisan or national
interests (</span><a href="http://www.weforum.org/"><span style="font-family: Arial;">www.weforum.org</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Islamabad, Pakistan33.718151 73.06054700000004233.506713 72.737823500000047 33.929589 73.383270500000037tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-80677640869842040132013-01-22T03:31:00.001-08:002013-01-22T03:31:49.132-08:00Mishal to Conduct Nationwide Survey to Measure Pakistan’s Global Competitiveness Ranking for 2013-2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrVEQc_Rq3pLui-q_Xg2FPQl7MlhOggO0pIWbS_enmq0bio1lDdiOU_fJsgMHqDYGfvMQpW2hjTM0Q_J2bgJnuQ5kU1UCoSc8c3NPOavBsld71kfPR8QL9LTEWGJ_Mr5-AMdlE-GYbSDN/s1600/image-logo%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrVEQc_Rq3pLui-q_Xg2FPQl7MlhOggO0pIWbS_enmq0bio1lDdiOU_fJsgMHqDYGfvMQpW2hjTM0Q_J2bgJnuQ5kU1UCoSc8c3NPOavBsld71kfPR8QL9LTEWGJ_Mr5-AMdlE-GYbSDN/s1600/image-logo%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 22pt;">Mishal to Conduct Nationwide Survey to Measure Pakistan’s Global Competitiveness Ranking for 2013-2014<u></u><u></u></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiN5xxjrf2OJZUi3eyZmxRjPSr7NEP3Oo9Ue2Seno6TSF-fdfBIqsInBwFgw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiN5xxjrf2OJZUi3eyZmxRjPSr7NEP3Oo9Ue2Seno6TSF-fdfBIqsInBwFgw" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The World Economic Forum in partnership with Mishal Pakistan will conduct the Executive Opinion Survey 2013 in Pakistan by January 2013. <u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Executive Opinion Survey, “The Voice of the Business Community” is a major component of The Global Competitiveness Report and provides the key ingredient that turns the Report into a representative annual measure of a nation’s economic environment and its ability to achieve sustained growth. The Survey gathers valuable information on a broad range of variables for which hard data sources are scarce or nonexistent. High level business executives operating in Pakistan will be surveyed to capture their opinion on the business environment in which they operate.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/file.aspx?f=5822&width=440&height=297" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/file.aspx?f=5822&width=440&height=297" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Global Competitiveness Report has been the World Economic Forum’s flagship publication since 1979 and is widely recognized as the world’s leading cross-country comparison of factors affecting economic competitiveness and growth.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 14pt;">A sample of company executives in Pakistan will be asked to complete this important and confidential survey. Mr. Amir Jahangir of Mishal Pvt. Limited notes that it is vitally important that each executive sampled complete the survey to ensure that Pakistan has accurate and reliable data in the Report. The report for 2013-2014 is expected to be issues in the Q4 of 2013.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-22587753043521084532013-01-02T02:20:00.000-08:002013-01-02T02:20:26.285-08:00National Productivity Organization and Mishal Pakistan to Collaborate on improving Pakistan's Competitiveness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 24pt;">NPO collaborates with Mishal for improving Pakistan’s global competitiveness ranking.</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 24pt;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.npo.gov.pk/">National Productivity Organization (NPO)</a> signed MOU with <a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/">Mishal Pakistan</a>, a country partner institute of the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness">Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance at the World Economic Forum</a>. Mishal is working closely with key institutions in Pakistan on identifying the gaps and opportunities on improving competitiveness issues for long term economic growth Pakistan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mishal and NPO will work together to develop initiatives for improving Pakistan ranking on the <a href="http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2012-2013/">Global Competitiveness Index</a> of the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/">World Economic Forum</a>. It was also agreed that NPO will assist Mishal to conduct the annual <a href="https://wefsurvey.org/index.php?sid=28226&lang=en&intro=0">Executive Opinion Survey</a> of the World Economic Forum to measure <a href="http://mishal.com.pk/pakistan-loses-its-competitiveness-on-the-world-economic-forums-global-competitiveness-index-2012-2/">Pakistan’s ranking</a> on World Economic Forum’s various indicator on competitiveness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Both the organizations have also agreed to jointly execute activities to develop initiatives for measuring Pakistan’s competitiveness and improving its ranking; whereas, to create a hybrid pool of resources for knowledge sharing.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ndu.edu.pk/issra/images/ISSRA/NSW12/khawaja_yousuf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ndu.edu.pk/issra/images/ISSRA/NSW12/khawaja_yousuf.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/khawaja-muhammad-yousuf/56/10b/411" style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Khawaja Muhammad Yousuf</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">While addressing the occasion, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/khawaja-muhammad-yousuf/56/10b/411">Khawaja Muhammad Yousuf</a>, Chief Executive Officer of NPO, highlighted that “Pakistan rank 124 from a total of 144 countries and there is a need to synergize country’s resources both technically and physically to uplift our industry with special focus towards competitiveness and productivity”. He hoped that NPO and Mishal together will play a unique role through various special initiatives including research on productivity to improve Pakistan’s ranking. He further said that, “NPO will assist MISHAL Pakistan in developing the annual <a href="http://www.competitiveness.org.pk/downloads/SPCR2010.pdf">Pakistan’s State of Competitiveness Report</a>”. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGMkag8Ik5ZI9Shl7GK1RX8V1_l882OTc5ceaqIwv4BEf2mlsjuH8ibJu38_wmtJAu4_1ov-wtNxgzFtGh3Fti1Z10LQipdarRtdx6DA0keylq7QPRg9pgR_rL3L2RlIgY7_Not7Vf5c/s1600/Amir+Jahangir+WEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGMkag8Ik5ZI9Shl7GK1RX8V1_l882OTc5ceaqIwv4BEf2mlsjuH8ibJu38_wmtJAu4_1ov-wtNxgzFtGh3Fti1Z10LQipdarRtdx6DA0keylq7QPRg9pgR_rL3L2RlIgY7_Not7Vf5c/s1600/Amir+Jahangir+WEF.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;">Amir Jahangir</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Speaking on the occasion, chief executive officer of <a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/">Mishal</a> and <a href="http://www.weforum.org/community/forum-young-global-leaders">Young Global Leader</a> of the World Economic Forum, <a href="http://www.amirjahangir.com/">Amir Jahangir</a> shared that Pakistan is facing though competition both in the region and globally, nations around the world are improving their productivity and competitiveness systematically, Pakistan needs to focus its initiatives to improve its own competitiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">MISHAL and NPO will also work together to develop institutional capacity of various government institutions and departments to understand the challenges faced by Pakistan on the competitiveness front, for this, MISHAL will provide technical assistance to NPO in establishing a separate department within NPO that will specialize in addressing the issues of competitiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">To improve competitiveness, both parties have also agreed that Mishal will be working closely with the management of the National Productivity Organization to reach out to other stakeholders to mobilize resources including knowledge partnerships, donor assistance and institutional collaborations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Established in 1961, NPO is the partner of the <a href="http://www.apo-tokyo.org/">Asian Productivity Organization (APO) </a>and <a href="http://www.wcps.info/">World Confederation of Productivity Science (WCPS)</a> & <a href="http://www.acronymgeek.com/WNPO/World_Network_of_Productivity_Organizations">World Network of Productivity Organizations (WNPO)</a>. NPO is striving hard to reach out to the economic sectors with the help of its regional offices and nationwide initiatives which include training, consulting, productivity audits and benchmarking exercises, energy efficiency, <a href="http://www.npo.gov.pk/npo-services/prime-minister-quality-award/">Prime Minister Quality Awards</a>, Transfer of best practices, quality certifications and standardization, mass awareness and outreach Programmes on improving productivity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mishal Pakistan is the country partner Institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance at the World Economic Forum. World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry. Established in 2003, as a limited by liability company under companies ordinance 1984, Mishal has been engaged with some of the most dynamic organizations, including media enterprises and global development agencies helping them develop their communication strategies and solutions for better understanding and creating synergies with their concerned stakeholders.</span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0Constitution Avenue, Islamabad, Pakistan33.7281922 73.09610190000000833.7017812 73.055761400000009 33.754603200000005 73.1364424tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-45561408119033346902012-11-16T02:35:00.001-08:002012-11-16T02:35:55.666-08:00INNDEVCOM: Promoting entrepreneurial growth in Pakistan<a href="http://inndevcom.blogspot.com/2012/11/promoting-entrepreneurial-growth-in.html">INNDEVCOM: Promoting entrepreneurial growth in Pakistan</a><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 13pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 22pt;">Promoting entrepreneurial growth in Pakistan</span></b><u></u><u></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 13pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1432049643612168191" name="13b08b0852ff8698_13b08af280720e71_13b08ae3fa93f822_13b08adbca3b1450_13b08ad4e807900a_13b08abfe2929014_13b08a716b4906c5__GoBack" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: initial;"><b><span style="font-size: 19pt;">Entrepreneurs seek Government support for creating an enabling environment fostering entrepreneurial culture</span></b></a><u></u><u></u></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Celebrating the Global Entrepreneurship Week, twenty prominent Pakistani entrepreneurs, government officials and academic leaders gathered at a round-table meeting on ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for Entrepreneurship to Grow’ in Islamabad today. Panellists explored ways to promote entrepreneurial growth in Pakistan, emphasizing that entrepreneurs have the potential to create solutions that can transform Pakistan and generate new jobs for millions of young graduates entering the workforce.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The event culminates ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ and follows six days of workshops for emerging Pakistani entrepreneurs on how to start and grow a successful business. The workshops were facilitated by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and held at Abasyn University from November 10 to 15.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
After avoiding the collapse of the global financial and economic system, governments around the world are now focused on building a foundation for future growth. In addition to safeguarding the economic recovery, the world is facing a number of transformative challenges, such as an increasing scarcity of natural resources, significant demographic shifts, and the environmental and social implications of climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In dealing with these challenges, governments have taken an increasingly strong interest in entrepreneurship. Speaking on the occasion, Amir Jahangir, Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and CEO Mishal Pakistan, said “Entrepreneurs are recognized as important drivers of economic and social progress, and rapidly growing entrepreneurial enterprises are viewed as important sources of innovation, employment and productivity growth”. Some of the most influential enterprises of our time began relatively recently as small entrepreneurial ventures, he further added.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The participants emphasized the need for the capacity building of the media on creating Entrepreneurship as a new beat in Pakistan. They emphasized the importance of a media fund, which can encourage young entrepreneurs and journalists to create more relevant content on entrepreneurship. The initiative would also be able to create a new breed of mediapreneurs and journalists to understand and report on the opportunities and challenges of being an entrepreneur in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Speaking about ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week,’ Muhammad Farrukh Mahmood, co-founder of Moftak Solutions, said, “We are thankful to the U.S. Embassy for giving us the opportunity to hear from Pakistan’s leading entrepreneurs about the challenges they face in starting and running a business. The workshops this week helped to bridge the gap between industry and academia, and inspired youth to become entrepreneurs to contribute to the growth of this country."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Many recent public discussions have addressed the challenges that entrepreneurs face in Pakistan. The roundtable moved the discussion to the next level by developing a concrete set of recommendations to the Government of Pakistan on how to overcome the challenges and improve the business environment in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Panellists focused their discussions on the pivotal role of Pakistan’s private sector in spurring job creation. Were an entrepreneurship ecosystem to take root, panellists said, Pakistan’s economic growth could accelerate.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Many governments are therefore trying to actively promote entrepreneurship through various forms of support. The World Economic Forum has been actively engaging early-stage and later-stage high-growth companies for many years through its Technology Pioneers programme and its community of Global Growth Companies.</span><br />
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</b><h3 style="margin: 0px; position: relative;"><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: left;">Creating Enabling Environment for Entrepreneurship to Grow in Pakistan - Key Recommendations for action:</b></h3></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-left: 0.75in; text-align: justify;"></div><ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Triple helix” entrepreneurial ecosystem components: industry, academia and government);</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Changing policies, laws and regulations to make it easy for startups;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Improving access to finance—equity, debt and venture capital—and use of movable assets as collateral;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Removing instruments of rent-seeking , which dwindle resources available for entrepreneurs;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Building growth cities – urban development in line with the new growth strategy;</span></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Developing and managing brand, guarantees, warrantees/returns;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Embedding entrepreneurship in education and business incubations;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Releasing the energy of the domestic sector;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Developing Science and Technology policy and its implementation;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Engendering entrepreneurship;</span></li>
<li style="font-family: arial; font-size: small; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Role of intellectual property rights (IPR), including protection of trademarks, websites, copyrights and patents.</span></li>
</ul>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-60457220851236576152012-10-31T00:01:00.001-07:002012-10-31T00:01:00.484-07:00Pakistan faces tough challenges on developing its ...<a href="http://inndevcom.blogspot.com/2012/10/pakistan-faces-tough-challenges-on.html?spref=bl">Pakistan faces tough challenges on developing its financial sector</a>:<br />
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Pakistan faces tough challenges on developing its financial markets Pakistan ranks at 58 out of 62 economies in the Financial Development Index 2012, World Economic Forum.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 13pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;">Pakistan faces tough challenges on developing its financial markets</span></b><b><span style="color: #0033cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 36px;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5UCXHMNQG-xQXNGzXIkyP2pvI2GuuF-r5bk9kLaOCljNRImB14XEoVn1Z-TfWGNSKDfyI-B3-L_1aZsIqyEpu6NIurO0dZA-fANQjeOAi5Mb6EUY6knCjOFLy0oz4ZoWlRQSlCgFlRM/s1600/FDR+2012+of+WEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #888888; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5UCXHMNQG-xQXNGzXIkyP2pvI2GuuF-r5bk9kLaOCljNRImB14XEoVn1Z-TfWGNSKDfyI-B3-L_1aZsIqyEpu6NIurO0dZA-fANQjeOAi5Mb6EUY6knCjOFLy0oz4ZoWlRQSlCgFlRM/s200/FDR+2012+of+WEF.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="140" /></a></div><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pakistan ranks at 58 out of 62 economies in the Financial Development Index of 2012, losing 3 points from its position of 55 in 2011. The Financial Development Report 2012 depicts commercial and retail access to finance shrinking in Pakistan.</span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 31px;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Financial systems across the world are stagnating, leading to challenges for a global economic recovery, according to the fifth edition of the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>’s <i><a href="http://www.weforum.org/issues/financial-development" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Financial Development Report 2012</a> </i>released today.</span></span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHK0RxHFhXsNAbyeBgQrug6rhJ2F59y0Dt54oeUucir8Ah1F4vYk2qxZV7CKWwyMXBA_ftR4pPnbLVLw22FGxiZmYTWsYQJp6Uh-ExDbkBINevcHJao6_pdDtgZcO5rTCngbd0TcK3VWY/s1600/wef_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHK0RxHFhXsNAbyeBgQrug6rhJ2F59y0Dt54oeUucir8Ah1F4vYk2qxZV7CKWwyMXBA_ftR4pPnbLVLw22FGxiZmYTWsYQJp6Uh-ExDbkBINevcHJao6_pdDtgZcO5rTCngbd0TcK3VWY/s200/wef_logo.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="185" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">“The <i>Financial Development Report </i>shows that financial systems in advanced and emerging economies are stalling”, said Giancarlo Bruno, Senior Director at the World Economic Forum. “Macroeconomic uncertainty, as well as concerns related to regulation, contributes to inhibiting the financial industry from funding much-needed growth.”<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amirjahangir.com/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Amir Jahangir,</a> Chief Executive Officer - <a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mishal Pakistan</a>, a country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance, World Economic Forum said that </span>“t<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">he Financial Development Report 2012 ranks 62 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets, analysing the drivers of financial system development in advanced and emerging economies to serve as a tool for countries to benchmark themselves and establish priorities for reform</span>”<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. The rankings are based on more than 120 variables spanning institutional and business environments, financial stability, and size and depth of capital markets, among other factors</span>, he added.<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo_V3qlSZQD_ronxHiDiM5cyrDQ-ZOCaah_2pvJ3alwUOnr8HHsw2zSOUiXdUsIqu3gPdzlqvtMrSqQ6M5xpabjln3w8nSpynlIkGqPyE1vLowwq6KimMPa4x69gq2d2sNTdVxpF7ZOo/s1600/FDR+2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #888888; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo_V3qlSZQD_ronxHiDiM5cyrDQ-ZOCaah_2pvJ3alwUOnr8HHsw2zSOUiXdUsIqu3gPdzlqvtMrSqQ6M5xpabjln3w8nSpynlIkGqPyE1vLowwq6KimMPa4x69gq2d2sNTdVxpF7ZOo/s320/FDR+2012.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11px;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: xx-small;">Top 10 performers on the Financial Development Index 2012</span> </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Pakistan continues to show stability on the Financial Development Index of the World Economic Forum on the indicators; cost of closing a business, where the rank of 5 was maintained, also showing stability in frequency of banking crises and output loss during banking crises, Pakistan again secured the top rank of 1 among 62 economies; similarly on the public ownership of banks, which is a percentage of assets held by the 10 largest banks that is located in banks that are more than 25 percent government owned, Pakistan again secured the top rank of 1.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Report also shows an improvement in the total number of active borrowers from microfinance institutions per 1,000 adults, where Pakistan has improved its position of 12 in 2011 to 9<sup>th</sup> in 2012. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Pakistan has shown slight improvements on the strength of auditing and reporting standards, where it is ranked 48 in 2012 as compared to 52 in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">On the pillar of legal and regulatory issues Pakistan has shown significant gains, by improving the burden of government regulations, securing 21 rank as compared to 32 last year. The regulation of securities exchanges has also improved 5 points with a rank of 37 out of 62 economies globally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The current account balance to GDP, a variable, which is the three-year average of current account balance to GDP, indicates the difficulty Pakistan had in mobilizing the foreign exchange necessary for debt service (from 2009 to 2011) has also improved from 53 last year to 40 in the current year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The economy has also shown improvements in the “aggregate profitability indicator”, which is based on a three-year average of three measures of profitability: net interest margin, bank return on assets, and bank return on equity, this was measured on an average from 2008 to 2010, Pakistan improved 8 points on this, securing 41 rank on the Financial Development Index 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Other area where Pakistan showed improvement of 14 ranks was the real growth of direct insurance premiums, where Pakistan stands at 30<sup>th</sup> rank.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">However Pakistan showed discouraging performance on various key indicators, where it lost it development advantage on multiple factors, whereas; intellectual property protection (53) and effectiveness of law-making bodies (47) as compared to 48 and 43 from last year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The distortive effect of taxes and subsidies on competition, which is to what extent does government subsidies and tax breaks distort competition, Pakistan lost its rank from 46 in 2011 to 53 in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In terms of internet users, Pakistan has seen a decline in its internet penetration, where it lost its position of 54 to 61 as compared to 2011 and 2012 respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">On the external vulnerability indicator, which is the sum of several measures of external exposure as a percentage of foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan has lost an alarming 14 points and it stands at 20 in 2012. However Pakistan still maintains a development advantage in this area.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Whereas the world has shown improvements in the banking system, such as Tier 1 capital ratios and non-performing loans to total loans, Pakistan has declined in these two indicators, securing 26 and 57 out of 62 economies in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The decline in deposit money bank assets to GDP (52); the private credit to GDP which is a variable showing private credit by deposit-money banks and other financial institutions as a percentage of GDP also declined from 48 in 2011 to 56 in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Financial Development Report (FDR) shows an alarming increase in banks overhead costs, which is the bank overhead costs as a percentage of total assets has increased from the rank of 22 in 2011 to 45 in 2012, impacting a probable profitability of the banks in the coming years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">On the equity market development pillar Pakistan has shown discouraging performance, where stock market capitalization to GDP has slipped from 43 to 50, stock market value traded to GDP from 33 to 43 and Pakistan’s rank on number of listed companies per 10,000 people has dropped from 36 to 43.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The worst news for Pakistan on the FDR is the commercial and retail access finance, where ease of access to credit has been deteriorated to 43 from 30 last year; similarly ease of access to loan has also become difficult, where the Report has ranked it 40 this year as compared to 28 in 2011. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The market penetration of bank accounts, which is the number of commercial bank accounts per 100,000 adults has also declined 19 points in 2012, where Pakistan stands at 59 now, simultaneously debit card penetration has also lost development advantage from a rank of 37 in 2011 to 59 in 2012, showing staleness on part of the growth in the banking system in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">On the global front, the Report shows that liquidity appears to be stabilizing in a number of top economies, as highlighted by the fact that turnover velocity rebounded in 2011, moving closer to 2006 levels. However, such gains are offset by considerably weaker domestic market capitalization levels across the world’s stock exchanges.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Topping the Index, Hong Kong SAR came in 1st for a second consecutive year as a result of benefits from a large and efficient banking system, well-developed infrastructure and robust equity markets. Despite these strengths, Hong Kong has a relatively underdeveloped bond market and its financial sector has yet to be fully liberalized.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The United States and the United Kingdom also remain in the same positions as last year, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Both countries have highly developed financial markets, particularly their foreign exchange and derivatives markets, but they struggle with relatively inefficient banking systems. Banking system stability and currency stability are also areas of weakness. The US, however, has more developed equity and bond markets, while the United Kingdom has stronger corporate governance and legal and regulatory mechanisms. Japan and Switzerland each moved up one spot to 7th and 8th space overall. Both countries have improved the size and efficiency of their banking and financial services and have shown improvements in their legal and regulatory framework.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mishal Pakistan is the country partner institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance, World Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br />
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.weforum.org/reports/financial-development-report-2012" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">The Financial Development Report 2012</a></span></span></div>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-31509636337546609152012-09-04T23:00:00.001-07:002012-09-04T23:00:58.337-07:00Pakistan Loses its Competitiveness on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2012-2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gLypO34R8gtIcxCo_pNrGB-T2x6Lx0yiB0zfkhFPuESI5Bt2byrgIB5P9Mf5f19w9NqntBMuIluOBjA4RjVXDwCnSpHjNUmSVYdv5c0mjBL823m8hAptgoPF1O4QKz-eJVZIqqRzLkY/s1600/GCR+2012-2013.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-gLypO34R8gtIcxCo_pNrGB-T2x6Lx0yiB0zfkhFPuESI5Bt2byrgIB5P9Mf5f19w9NqntBMuIluOBjA4RjVXDwCnSpHjNUmSVYdv5c0mjBL823m8hAptgoPF1O4QKz-eJVZIqqRzLkY/s400/GCR+2012-2013.gif" width="280" /></a><b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pakistan Loses its Competitiveness on the
World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2012-2013<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Falls 6 points on the Global
Competitiveness Ranking, 124 among 144 economies <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pakistan has been ranked among bottom 20 of the 144
economies around the world in <i>The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013</i>,
released today by the World Economic Forum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">According
to the <a href="http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness">Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2012-13</a>, Pakistan lacks a long-term
view of competitiveness. The level of corruption and poor governance are some
of the factors slowing down Pakistan’s economic growth, therefore ranking
Pakistan at 124 among 144 other countries on the index. The World Economic
Forum ranks countries on more than 100 economic indicators comparing 144
countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdR-yqyODhHRl3jq3nkQLYe7CRGRNQHXDIjyNZgo3pN-2JFwO-lG6IJJdI7EVOVMb7ZzLBYLWR-EJflIY-xzbndEUF_WijfXjtGc7c-_595RVVBljMpQdqDQ76VuyFYfQym7uw6vgs-_I/s1600/wwf+Prof+Schwab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdR-yqyODhHRl3jq3nkQLYe7CRGRNQHXDIjyNZgo3pN-2JFwO-lG6IJJdI7EVOVMb7ZzLBYLWR-EJflIY-xzbndEUF_WijfXjtGc7c-_595RVVBljMpQdqDQ76VuyFYfQym7uw6vgs-_I/s200/wwf+Prof+Schwab.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Klaus Schwab, <br />Founder and Executive Chairman, <br />World Economic Forum</span> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">“Persisting
divides in competitiveness across regions and within regions, particularly in
Europe, are at the origin of the turbulence we are experiencing today, and this
is jeopardizing our future prosperity.” said <a href="http://www.weforum.org/klaus-schwab-founder-and-executive-chairman">Klaus Schwab</a>, Founder and
Executive Chairman, <a href="http://www.weforum.org/history">World Economic Forum</a>. “We urge governments to act
decisively by adopting long-term measures to enhance competitiveness and return
the world to a sustainable growth path.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Pakistan’s
secured ranking on 12 pillars: institutions (115), infrastructure (116),
macroeconomic environment (139), Health and Primary Education (117) Higher
Education and Training (124), Goods Market Efficiency (97), Labor Market
Efficiency (130) Financial Market Development (73), Technological Readiness
(118), Market Size (30), Business Sophistication (78) and Innovation (77).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGMkag8Ik5ZI9Shl7GK1RX8V1_l882OTc5ceaqIwv4BEf2mlsjuH8ibJu38_wmtJAu4_1ov-wtNxgzFtGh3Fti1Z10LQipdarRtdx6DA0keylq7QPRg9pgR_rL3L2RlIgY7_Not7Vf5c/s1600/Amir+Jahangir+WEF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGMkag8Ik5ZI9Shl7GK1RX8V1_l882OTc5ceaqIwv4BEf2mlsjuH8ibJu38_wmtJAu4_1ov-wtNxgzFtGh3Fti1Z10LQipdarRtdx6DA0keylq7QPRg9pgR_rL3L2RlIgY7_Not7Vf5c/s200/Amir+Jahangir+WEF.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Amir Jahangir<br />Chief Executive Officer <br />Mishal Pakistan,</span><br />Young Global Leader,<br />World Economic Forum</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">‘Pakistan
has lost its competitive advantage almost on all the pillars of the
competitiveness index except for in Health, Primary Education and Labor market
Efficiency’ says <a href="http://www.amirjahangir.com/">Amir Jahangir</a> Chief Executive Officer <a href="http://www.mishal.com.pk/">Mishal Pakistan</a>, <a href="http://pakobserver.net/201204/03/detailnews.asp?id=148290">countrypartner</a> for the Center of Global Competitiveness and Performance at the World
Economic Forum. Further adding, although Pakistan showed good performance on
the innovation and sophistication pillars, but on the factors for basic
requirements and efficiency enhancer pillars Pakistan continues to show poor
performance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Pakistani business community has identified Corruption as the most problematic
factor for doing business in the country. The report indicates that Pakistan
has failed to come up with effective regulations on intellectual property
protection, where the country lost its position of 93 to 108 from 2011 to 2012
respectively. Poor governance in terms of favoritism in decision-making (129)
and wastefulness of government spending (96) have also shown significant
decline in rankings. The Efficiency of Legal Framework in Challenging
Regulations has also impacted the competiveness of Pakistan’s economy as it has
declined from 79 in 2011 to 97 in 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpXwOTJ00adNBRGnhsNJF0ujDq3jiMPp0GjlTdqQ47k0r75PGgARDhPQ1ZOchtfjxG5KCFHMyHN4v_QANMpt56-oi7VjW1r1_AneELOsSz6kCzYmtqLJDcidgskMJ_FBE_2FJubxdF_0/s1600/GCR+2012-2013+Data+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpXwOTJ00adNBRGnhsNJF0ujDq3jiMPp0GjlTdqQ47k0r75PGgARDhPQ1ZOchtfjxG5KCFHMyHN4v_QANMpt56-oi7VjW1r1_AneELOsSz6kCzYmtqLJDcidgskMJ_FBE_2FJubxdF_0/s1600/GCR+2012-2013+Data+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwy0MdNrSTT8UmSqR-BHIUCakQvozQnjwGxCwZVZIaquvg8cyOgTVfR_NfghlTiGXHn0Cz8vk3V7i87vcU-yAqe7qA_kXOrVhjX7ryXWVfUjuKDR35Vjz2WXEXZcNqXqRofT5lrwmWVk/s1600/GCR+2012-2013+Data+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwy0MdNrSTT8UmSqR-BHIUCakQvozQnjwGxCwZVZIaquvg8cyOgTVfR_NfghlTiGXHn0Cz8vk3V7i87vcU-yAqe7qA_kXOrVhjX7ryXWVfUjuKDR35Vjz2WXEXZcNqXqRofT5lrwmWVk/s1600/GCR+2012-2013+Data+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">The
law and order situation has been a serious threat to the economic activities,
with war on terror and other target killing issues impacting throughout the
year, the Reliability of Police Service has gone to 127 in the current year as
compared to 116 in the last year.</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%;">On the
Macroeconomic Pillar the government’s performance has been weak with the budget
balance ranking (% of GDP) deteriorating from 108 to 125 from 2011 to 2012
respectively. The general government debt has also seen poor performance as it
has lost 11 points from last year, by being ranked at 107 in the current year.<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Although
Pakistan ranked 41 in 2011 on the Tax Collection Efficiency index, however the
economy has lost its competitive advantage due to decline in 2012 by ranking to
59, limitations on the ease of access to loans and venture capital
availability, where Pakistan stands at 65 and 55 respectively. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
labor market efficiency pillar shows a decline in the cooperation between labor
and employer relations whereas the rank has slipped from 80 to 90. The GCR also
identifies that the businesses in Pakistan are shying away from reliance on
professional management as the ranking has decreased from 88 to 101.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Although
Pakistan has seen some improvement on the broadband usage, but the individual
internet usage has declined, ranking the country at 120 in 2012 from 98 in
2011. The government’s procurement of advanced tech products has not been a
priority where it showed deterioration<b>
</b>from 91 to 109 this year as compared to last year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
state of cluster development has also been neglected and reflects in the report
where the rank has plunged from 48 to 62. The commercialization of research has
not been a priority in Pakistan, where the industry university collaboration
has also seen negative fall from 69 to 81. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Nonetheless,
Pakistan has also shown some positive indicators on improving its
competitiveness, where the burden of government regulation has improved from 76
in 2011 to 62 this year, similarly the transparency of government policy making
has also been improved from ranking of 119 to 109. The country credit rating
index has also improved from 123 this year to 116 compared to last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
economy has shown flexibility in the hiring and firing practices where it has
improved the rank from 33 last year to 21 this year. The pay and productivity
index has also shown gains where Pakistan has improved 13 points and ranks at
73.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
report has shown significant improvements on the performance of the Securities
and Exchange Commission, where Pakistan has shown improvements on the
regulations of securities exchanges by being ranked 55 as compared to 70 last
year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Switzerland,
for the fourth consecutive year, tops the overall rankings in <i>The Global
Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 </i>Singapore remains in second position and
Finland in third position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern
and Western European countries dominate the top 10 with the Netherlands (5th),
Germany (6th) and United Kingdom (8th). The United States (7th), Hong Kong
(9th) and Japan (10th) complete the ranking of the top 10 most competitive
economies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ic2.pbase.com/v3/73/577473/2/47144538.GCRNY2004salaimartin3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://ic2.pbase.com/v3/73/577473/2/47144538.GCRNY2004salaimartin3.jpg" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Xavier Sala-i-Martin, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Professor of Economics,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Columbia University, USA</span> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xavier_Sala-i-Martin">Xavier Sala-i-Martin</a>, Professor of Economics, <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University, USA</a>, said: “The
Global Competitiveness Index provides a window on the long-term trends that are
shaping the competitiveness of the world’s economies. In this light, we believe
it offers useful insight into the key areas where countries must act if they
are to optimize the productivity that will determine their economic future.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
report indicates that Switzerland and countries in Northern Europe have been
consolidating their strong competitiveness positions since the financial and
economic downturn in 2008. On the other hand, countries in Southern Europe,
i.e. Portugal (49th), Spain (36th), Italy (42nd) and particularly Greece (96th)
continue to suffer from competitiveness weaknesses in terms of macroeconomic
imbalances, poor access to financing, rigid labour markets and an innovation
deficit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Despite
growing its overall competitiveness score, the United States continues its
decline for the fourth year in a row, falling two more places to seventh
position. In addition to the burgeoning macroeconomic vulnerabilities, some
aspects of the country’s institutional environment continue to raise concern
among business leaders, particularly the low public trust in politicians and a
perceived lack of government efficiency. On a more positive note, the US still
remains a global innovation powerhouse and its markets work efficiently.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
large emerging market economies (BRICS) displayed different performances.
Despite a slight decline in the rankings of three places, the People’s Republic
of China (29th) continues to lead the group. Of the others, only Brazil (48th)
moves up this year, with South Africa (52nd), India (59th) and Russia (67th)
experiencing small declines in rankings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">In
the Middle East and North Africa, Qatar (11th) leads the region while Saudi
Arabia remains among the top 20 (18th). The United Arab Emirates (24th)
improves its performance while Kuwait (37th) slightly declines. Morocco (70th)
and Jordan (63rd) improve slightly. In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa (52nd)
and Mauritius (54th) feature in the top half of the rankings. However, most
countries in the region continue to require efforts across the board to improve
their competitiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KfgBJ15tekU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<div class="Default" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Global Competitiveness Report</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">’s
competitiveness ranking is based on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which
was first developed for the World Economic Forum by Sala-i-Martin, a co-author
of this year’s report, in 2004. Defining competitiveness as <i>the set of
institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of
a country</i>, GCI scores are calculated by drawing together public and private
data around 12 key categories – the pillars of competitiveness – that together
make up a comprehensive picture of a country’s competitiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Mishal Pakistan is the country partner
Institute of the Center for Global Competitiveness and Performance at the World
Economic Forum. World Economic Forum is an independent international
organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders
in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Read the <i>Global
Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 </i>at </span><a href="http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-competitiveness</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com7Mishal Pakistan; 250-B, Northern Strip, Street No. 5, E-11/3, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan33.718151 73.06054733.612491999999996 72.901932 33.82381 73.219162tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973162558906906033.post-70383242381825625972012-04-04T09:14:00.000-07:002012-04-04T09:14:27.854-07:00Global Information Technology Report Highlights Emergence of a New Digital Divide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.weforum.org/news/global-information-technology-report-highlights-emergence-new-digital-divide">Global Information Technology Report Highlights Emergence of a New Digital Divide</a><br />
<br />
<h1 class="dark h1-overlay" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; color: #055093; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: bold 20px/24px Weforum-Helvetica-Heavy, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 5px 0px 20px; orphans: 2; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span class="js-wrap" style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Weforum-Helvetica-Heavy, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Global Information Technology Report Highlights Emergence of a New Digital Divide</span></h1>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; color: #363636; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 12px/normal Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div class="content-html-editor" style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<ul style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 10px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-image: url("http://www.weforum.org/sites/all/themes/wef-960/images/ico/bullet-point.gif"); background-position: 0% 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">The 11th edition of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Global Information Technology Report 2012: Living in a Hyperconnected World</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>was launched today with a special focus on the transformational impacts of ICT on the economy and society.</li>
<li style="background-image: url("http://www.weforum.org/sites/all/themes/wef-960/images/ico/bullet-point.gif"); background-position: 0% 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">The report’s evolved framework introduces a new set of impact-oriented metrics to measure networked readiness on country competitiveness.</li>
<li style="background-image: url("http://www.weforum.org/sites/all/themes/wef-960/images/ico/bullet-point.gif"); background-position: 0% 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sweden ranks first among 142 economies, followed by Singapore and Finland; the Nordic countries lead the ICT revolution.</li>
<li style="background-image: url("http://www.weforum.org/sites/all/themes/wef-960/images/ico/bullet-point.gif"); background-position: 0% 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">The United States, ranked 8th, benefits from strong ICT infrastructure, but weaknesses in the political and regulatory environment hinder its overall performance.</li>
<li style="background-image: url("http://www.weforum.org/sites/all/themes/wef-960/images/ico/bullet-point.gif"); background-position: 0% 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite recent improvements in overall competitiveness rankings, the BRICS, led by China at 51st, lag behind more advanced economies.</li>
<li style="background-image: url("http://www.weforum.org/sites/all/themes/wef-960/images/ico/bullet-point.gif"); background-position: 0% 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;">Read the full report, watch interviews, access data and other materials at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.weforum.org/gitr" style="-webkit-transition-duration: 0.5s; -webkit-transition-property: color; background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; color: #2393d3; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">www.weforum.org/gitr</a>.</li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Despite efforts over the past decade to develop information and communications technologies (ICT) infrastructure in developing economies, a new digital divide in terms of ICT impacts persists, according to the latest rankings of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Global Information Technology Report 2012: Living in a Hyperconnected World</em>, released today by the World Economic Forum.</div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Sweden (1st) and Singapore (2nd) top the rankings in this year’s report in leveraging information and communications technologies to boost country competitiveness. Switzerland (5th), the Netherlands (6th), the United States (8th), Canada (9th) and the United Kingdom (10th) also show strong performances in the top 10.</div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
However, ICT readiness in sub-Saharan Africa is still low, with most countries showing significant lags in connectivity due to insufficient development of ICT infrastructure, which remains too costly, and displaying poor skill levels that do not allow for an efficient use of the available technology. Even in those countries where ICT infrastructure has been improved, ICT-driven impacts on competitiveness and well-being trail behind, resulting in a new digital divide.</div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Despite improvements in many drivers of competitiveness, the BRICS countries – led by China (51st) – still face important challenges to more fully adopt and leverage ICT. An insufficient skills base and institutional weaknesses, especially in the business environment, present a number of shortcomings that stifle entrepreneurship and innovation.</div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
With a record coverage of 142 economies worldwide, the report remains the most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on competitiveness and the well-being of nations. After a two-year review process, the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) featured in the report has evolved to ensure that it captures the main drivers of a rapidly changing ICT industry and remains relevant for public- and private-sector decision-makers.</div>
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The NRI has increased its focus on the impacts of ICT to better align with areas of public policy. It has added new, relevant indicators such as mobile broadband subscriptions, and dropped other outdated indicators.</div>
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“The Networked Readiness Index (NRI) has been adopted by several governments as a valuable tool for assessing and leveraging technology for competitiveness and development. The success of the NRI emphasizes the importance of continuing to evolve its framework with the changing landscape of technology and the new opportunities it creates,” said<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Soumitra Dutta</strong>, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD, a co-editor of the report. “To measure this impact effectively, we have introduced a new set of impact-oriented metrics this year that assess not just the availability of technology, but also the ways in which economies put that technology to greater use. Considering how ICT has become omnipresent, the focus has moved from access to making the best use of ICT in order to improve business innovation, governance, citizens’ political participation and social cohesion,” added Dutta.</div>
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Under the theme<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Living in a Hyperconnected World</em>, the report explores the causes and consequences of living in an environment where the Internet is accessible and immediate; people and businesses can communicate instantly; and machines are interconnected. The exponential growth of mobile devices, big data and social media is a driver of this process of hyperconnectivity and, consequently, fundamental transformations in all areas of society are being witnessed. This year’s report tracks how societies leverage ICT to derive important competitive advantages and increase social well-being.</div>
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“Hyperconnectivity is redefining relationships between individuals, consumers and enterprises, citizens and state, and we are beginning to see fundamental transformations in all areas of the economy and society,” said<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Robert Greenhill</strong>, Chief Business Officer, World Economic Forum. “Traditional organizations and industry infrastructures are facing challenges as industries converge. This will inevitably have consequences for policy and regulation as regulators will have to mediate the blurring lines between sectors and industries and will be obligated to oversee more facets in a pervasive way,” he added.</div>
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“We believe that in an emerging era of hyperconnectivity, ICT will enable a bold new chapter that is entwined with the sustained growth of the global economy,” said<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sun Yafang</strong>, Chairwoman of the Board, Huawei Technologies. ”The importance of ICT goes beyond its role as a driver of future economic growth as smart devices and cloud services continue to become a greater part of our daily lives. By strategically integrating ICT as part of overall economic growth plans, countries are in a better position to capitalize on the hyperconnected global economy and increase competitiveness on a global scale.”</div>
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“Digital applications offer unprecedented potential for economic, social and political development,” said<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Karim Sabbagh</strong>, Senior Partner and Global Head of Communication, Media and Technology Practice at Booz & Company. “Policy-makers need to be aware of both growth and transformational opportunities, and how they can craft policies that promote ubiquitous digitization in a timely manner. They must facilitate the creation of new models enabled by digitization at a faster pace than the old models are breaking down,” he added.</div>
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The report is the result of a long-standing partnership between the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, a leading international business school, within the framework of the Forum’s Industry Partnership Programme – particularly its Information Technologies & Telecommunications Industry Team – and the Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance.</div>
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The Networked Readiness Index uses a combination of data from publicly available sources and the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the Forum in collaboration with partner institutes, a network of over 150 leading research institutes and business organizations. This survey of over 15,000 executives provides insight into areas critical for networked readiness.</div>
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The presentation of the NRI rankings is followed by contributions by academics and industry experts, exploring the drivers and consequences for individuals, businesses and governments of living in a hyperconnected world, including:</div>
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<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Convergence of ICT</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Issues in a hyperconnected world, with a focus on the role of regulation</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Network neutrality</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Increasing importance of mobile broadband to empower individuals</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cost of broadband</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Role of in-memory technology and analytics to harness the power of big data</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Role of real-time analytics to make sense of big data</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Value of digital traces for commercial strategy and public policy</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The promise and perils of hyperconnectivity for organizations and societies</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Maximizing the impact of digitization</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border-image: initial; border-width: 0px; font-size: 12px; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: decimal; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Effect of technology in education</li>
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In addition, two policy case studies highlighting efforts to develop and spread the positive effects of ICT in Azerbaijan and Mauritius are covered.</div>
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The report contains detailed country profiles for the 142 economies featured in the study, providing a snapshot of each economy’s level of ICT uptake and economic and social impacts. Also included is an extensive section of data tables for the 53 indicators used in the computation of the index.</div>
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The editors of the report are Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology, INSEAD, and Beñat Bilbao, Associate Director and Economist, Centre for Global Competitiveness and Performance, World Economic Forum.</div>
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</div>AJhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16782192267094320479noreply@blogger.com0