Government extends PIA's privatization expression of interest submission

Morning! If you’re noticing an increase in shiny rooftops this summer, it’s due to the solar panel craze, and for good reason: they’ve gotten a lot cheaper. In Lahore, systems ranging from 7 to 15 kilowatts are now a whole Rs. 200,000 cheaper.

But not everyone loves this as China did what it does best: make things cheaper than anyone else. China's large-scale development of solar power, along with constant innovation, made solar panels affordable … and American and European manufacturers are pissed off as they are finding it challenging to compete with Chinese suppliers.

Well, we can’t hear them complaining over our cozy sleep in our air-conditioned homes 😴.

In this week’s edition:

👨‍💼 Violence is overrated (feat. Italian mafia)

✈️ PIA to fly away to privatization

💁🏻 Apple’s Siri 2.0

🚫 Blocking is always the solution

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

Breaking bad but make it less gory?

If Breaking Bad has a remake in 2024, it will have way fewer bloody scenes and look more like an episode of The Office.

In Italy, the mafia is shifting from violence to white-collar crimes like tax evasion and fraud. With just 17 mob-related deaths in 2022, down from over 700 in 1991, they're using billions of post-COVID recovery funds, with the government uncovering 16 billion euros in fraud linked to home improvement schemes.

The details:

• Around a third of all financial crime cases in the European Union are in Italy, with an estimated damage of 7.38 billion euros, highlighting the scale of the issue.

• While not all financial fraud is by the mafia, they're suspected to be involved in many cases, exploiting loopholes and societal leniency towards economic crimes like using schemes like fake invoices and bankruptcies to cheat the state and creditors out of money (someone make this into a show already @ Netflix?).

• Italy's legal system makes prosecuting white-collar crimes difficult due to time limits and lengthy appeal processes, making it hard to hold criminals accountable.

Way forward: To tackle this, Italy needs legal reforms to close loopholes and ensure the safety of funds.

TLDR: Italy's mafia is ditching violence for financial fraud, with mob-related deaths decreasing from 700+ in 1991 to just 17 in 2022. They're using post-COVID funds, with 16 billion euros in fraud linked to home improvements. Italy leads in financial crime cases in the EU, costing 7.38 billion euros. While not all fraud is mob-related, they're suspected in many cases, exploiting legal loopholes.

What else is new in news

✶ The U.S. Treasury Department has eased restrictions on automakers regarding the use of crucial minerals like graphite from China in electric vehicle batteries, giving them until 2027 to comply and temporarily exempting these minerals from strict rules.

Local 🇵🇰

“Dear Professor, I’m emailing to request an extension..”

Just like those college days when we frantically emailed professors for an extension on our assignments, big companies are now doing the same for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and just like our favorite professors - the government ministers are extending deadlines.

Abdul Aleem Khan, our Minister for Privatisation (yep, that's a real thing), has given companies an extra 15 days to show their interest in buying PIA. Turns out 10 companies also procrastinated like us and asked for more time to submit their proposals.

The details:

• The government plans to privatize PIA as part of a big effort to reform the economy. This move perfectly fits Pakistan's commitment to making economic changes that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked (read: ordered) for.

• The government really wants to get rid of it as they're open to selling anywhere from 51% to a full 100% of it. As of yet, three local airlines are considering forming a group with international companies for the PIA privatization bid.

• Job security for PIA employees is assured during the privatization process, which will be transparent and open to media scrutiny.

• Apart from PIA, other entities like the First Women Bank, HBFC, and electricity companies are also considering privatization.

Way forward: Progress in privatization is crucial for Pakistan's economic stability and negotiations with international institutions like the IMF. Bloomberg also reported that Habib Group and Gerry's (one of Pakistan's oldest and most respected aviation companies) have expressed interest in buying most of the shares in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

TLDR: Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister for Privatisation, has extended the deadline for companies to express interest in buying PIA by 15 days. The government aims to privatize PIA to bolster the economy, aligning with IMF reforms, and is willing to sell up to 100% of it. Notably, Habib Group and Gerry's have shown interest in acquiring a majority stake in PIA.

News Flash

✶ The processed food sector in Pakistan is growing fast (yay for the economy, ouch for our guts), with big investments in making and packing food. National Foods is spending Rs7 billion on a new packaging film plant in Faisalabad, and International Packaging Films (IPAK) is putting Rs13.5 billion into making their Lahore plant bigger.

Tech

Global 🌎️

“Hey Siri”

Every rose has its thorns and for the trillion-dollar company of Apple, the thorn might be something (or someone) having a sweet voice: Siri.

Siri, Apple's AI assistant, is getting a major upgrade after years of criticism for not being as helpful as users would like. The upgrade is part of Apple's plan to make talking to the AI assitant feel more seamless and natural.

The details:

• Apple is teaching Siri to start listening without needing you to say "Hey Siri" first. This is tricky because Siri needs to know when you're talking to it without any ‘wake words’.

• Apple is also teaching Siri to understand you better by improving how Siri recognizes special words and rare phrases, so you don't get the "I'm not sure I understand" message as often.

• Apple wants talking to Siri to feel like chatting with a friend. They're developing systems like STEER (Semantic Turn Extension-Expansion Recognition) to help Siri understand when you ask follow-up questions or start a new conversation.

Way forward: Apple is also working to make AI more user-friendly in everyday life. For example, they have a project called ReALM (Reference Resolution As Language Modeling) that helps simplify tasks using natural language. If you want to edit a photo on your iPhone, you can tell your phone what you want to do instead of struggling with complicated settings, like "Make the sky bluer" or "Remove background distractions." The AI system, thanks to projects like ReALM, would understand your commands and make the edits for you.

TLDR: Apple is giving Siri a major upgrade to address user dissatisfaction, aiming to make interactions feel more natural. They're teaching Siri to start listening without "Hey Siri," improving its understanding of special words and rare phrases, and developing systems like STEER for better conversation flow. Additionally, Apple is making AI more user-friendly in daily life with projects like ReALM, simplifying tasks through natural language commands.

What else is new in news

✶ Meta, the company behind platforms like Instagram, is betting big on short videos (thanks to our embarrassingly low attention span). They announced the new AI-powered tools, like the Instagram Creator Marketplace, that will help brands connect with creators efficiently by using machine learning to match them based on specific attributes. Meta also introduced features like video catalogs for Reels, allowing users to see multiple products in one video, and Reminder Ads with links for quick purchases.

Local 🇵🇰 

Block block block

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is standing up for consumers' rights after the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) decided to block 500,000 SIM cards of people who haven't filed their taxes. The PTA wants to make sure everything is done according to the rules (and they won’t lose $$) and is talking to phone companies and others involved to sort things out.

The details:

• The FBR wants to block SIM cards of people not listed as active taxpayers but obligated to file Income Tax Returns for Tax Year 2023.

• The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is also looking into this decision carefully.

• The FBR says non-filers can get their SIM cards back if they file their taxes for 2023.

• The FBR wants a report by May 15, and they're telling the PTA and phone companies to follow their orders quickly.

Way forward: The FBR's initiative to expand the tax net also includes measures to disconnect utility services and block mobile SIMs as outlined in the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. For this, they’ve established 145 district tax offices nationwide, aimed at bringing in 1.5 to 2 million new taxpayers by June 2024.

TLDR: The PTA is standing up for consumers' rights as the FBR plans to block 500,000 SIM cards of non-filers. They're ensuring rules are followed and discussing with phone companies. The FBR wants non-filers to pay taxes for 2023 to get their SIMs back.

Tech tour of news

✶ Sindh government also works for the people (when it wants to)!!. The Sindh government, led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has introduced the Automated Fare Collection (AFC) system for bus fares, making travel easier. Commuters can now use smart cards on the Peoples Bus Service to pay their fares. Despite rising fuel prices, the fare remains Rs50 for travel up to 35 to 40 kilometers.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

👗 If someone had told us that the food at the Met Gala is also inspired by the theme, we would’ve taken an interest in it much sooner.

Yesterday was the Annual Met Gala 2024, which is an event held each year to support the museum's Costume Institute, having a vast collection of 33,000 fashion items. This year's theme was "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion".

But our favorite read on it was this article from Vogue called “What’s on the Menu at the 2024 Met Gala?”. It turns out, that the food served at the Gala, like the dresses, is also inspired by the theme. For dessert, they made apple-shaped treats, a nod to Snow White's story.