TechLahore’s challenge to Pakistani EE and CS Students

TechLahore announces a $1,000 prize to any individual or team (of students) in Pakistan who will build a computing device on the lines of Prof. Harry Porter’s remarkable relay computer. If the team is successful in building the device, TechLahore will provide further reimbursements of up to $500 for materials used. That’s $1,500 total. And that isn’t all. TechLahore will also donate the computing device to a children’s library or museum in the wondrous and captivating city of Lahore. We’ll make sure the event is covered by the local press and the winning team gets their fair share of the spotlight. Without further ado, here is a video of what must be built:

And there’s more info after the fold for interested parties…

Rocketing KSE attracts $152M in foreign funds during February, 2008

The KSE has now beat its high three days running, and closed above 15,000 for the first time. Even at these levels, it remains one of Asia’s most attractive high-growth markets because of the comparatively conservative P/E multiples blue-chip companies on the bourse are trading at. This has not gone unnoticed by foreign portfolio fund managers. Foreign investment in the KSE is continuing to increase, as this quote from a News story indicates:

“According to the State Bank of Pakistan, foreign investors made new investments of $22,100,000 in Pakistani stock market on February 25, 2008″

More after the break.

The Pakistan/YouTube affair: Media bias, anyone?

What is up with the extreme media bias against Pakistan? This morning, CNN focused its cover story on Pakistan’s decision to block YouTube due to the presence of content deemed offensive and inciteful. In the past, Brazil, China and Thailand – to name just a few – have blocked YouTube, but CNN has never presented those instances as a cover story… And in this day of a kajillion websites and thousands of ways to get around pretty much any kind of block, an action of this nature does not even constitute a cover story! To put things in perspective, some of the other headlines that had taken a back seat to the Pakistan/YouTube affair:

1.  American Airlines’ staff refusal to give a dying woman oxygen - resulting in her death
2. The rape of a woman at the Hawaii state Capitol building!
3. The ceremonies held for an 8th grader who was shot dead in class (in the US), as the spate of random killings in US schools continues
4. Ralph Nader entering the Presidential race

Now I don’t know about you, but I would call this unbelievably biased reporting. Shame on you, CNN!

Mobilink’s Fiber network in Pakistan to come online by end 2008

Mobilink is currently deploying a very large, 8,500 km fiber optic network in Pakistan which will act as the backbone for its traffic by the end of 2008. An article that just appeared in The Daily Times details the project. Mobilink has already invested about $2.5BN in telecom infrastructure development in Pakistan and is poised to spend another $500M this year. With PTCL’s pioneering fiber network, and Wateen’s Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) initiative, Mobilink now adds to the list of independent telecom companies investing in significant wired infrastructure. Read on to view extracts from the article and a link.

Sophomore students from LUMS place in top 5 entrants in MIT tech competition

Kudos to Hasanat and Farrukh, two sophomore students from the Lahore University of Management Sciences who have placed 5th in an MIT Design Contest that required entrants to design, code and document an electricity consumption monitor that uploads information to a central database. Since the competition was open to contestants from all over the world, this award is a huge honour for the young engineers, their school… and for Pakistan. The quality of our science and technology graduates is increasing by the day. LUMS and its new SSE (School of Science and Engineering) promise to yield several Newtons, Einsteins, Turings and Abd-ul-Salams! Stay tuned!

Omantel buys 60% of Worldcall for $193M – TechLahore’s right again!

Remember one of the predictions we made in December? That Worldcall stock would rise at least 15% in 2008? Well, you can call that a slam dunk and here’s a high five! Omantel has just bought Worldcall for a substantial premium over its market cap as of Feb 19th, 2008. Wordcall closed on 19/2/2008 at Rs. 17.20, giving it a market cap of Rs. 13.16B. This translates into roughly $209M. But then Omantel comes in and swoops up 60% of Wordcall for almost as much as its total market cap… $193M! So that makes Wordcall immediately worth $322M. A jump of 54%!! How’s that for predictions? Huh? Read on to see the complete story.

“Lehman Bros. and IDC rate Pakistan’s IT fundamentals best in the world”, Yusuf Hussain

In this news report from ARY, Yusuf Hussain, Managing Director of the PSEB explains that Pakistan’s IT fundamentals are considered to be the best in the world by firms such as Lehman Bros and the internationally respected analyst group, IDC. Yusuf also goes on to explain that while the current size of the IT industry is $2BN, Pakistan is targeting 500% growth over the next 4 years to achieve a $10BN industry size by 2011. Click below to view the video.

Pakistan expecting flurry of outsourcing contracts from large US companies

As a consequence of the recent PSEB led business tour of the US, several Pakistani software companies are expecting to cement their ties with customers in America by signing a number of development contracts with them. The list of potential customers reads like a who’s-who of the Fortune 500. Potential contracts are expected from the likes of Yahoo, J.P. Morgan, Motorola, Sun Microsystems, Continental Airlines, Chase Bank, Houston IT Department, Prime Communications, American International University Houston, Cyber Tex, Cadence and Goldman Sachs. That’s quite a list! Read on to view a link to the story and to read an extract.

First international flight departs from Sialkot’s brand new airport

We are very happy to report that the Sialkot International Airport (SIAL) which was recently completed (and covered on this site just a few weeks ago) is now handling international traffic. The first outbound international flight for Kuwait left Sialkot yesterday, a Pakistan International Airlines 737 with 102 passengers onboard. It is expected that international cargo flights will begin operation from Sialkot in the near future. Read on to see quotes from the news report and a link to the story.

PSEB pledges to attract $200M in venture money by the year 2011

Here’s a worthwhile goal! The PSEB has announced its intention to work with companies to bring in $200M in venture capital, by the year 2011. This was disclosed in a story published by The News. To put things in context, $200M would probably be able to drive the same value creation in terms of new product companies that would require $1BN in a mid-tier US city. So the number is even more weighty than it would otherwise appear to be.

We’ve often talked about the praiseworthy efforts of the PSEB in furthering the cause of software and IT enterprises in the country, and this certainly will get added to the list. There isn’t much mention of where the funds will be raised from, how the PSEB will help, or whether there are any plans for the government to promote local Venture Funds in Pakistan. Until we hear more details on this, we’ll keep our fingers crossed. If any of our readers know more, please share with the rest of us in the interaction space below. Read on to see an extract from the story.