Pakistan approves medicine price hike of up to 20% amid tough economic conditions

Morning! With so many things happening, we couldn’t decide what to chat about with you so.. here are all of them:

• It is mental health awareness month so take a moment to reach out to those you love and make sure they're doing okay.

• May 6 is the big day for King Charles III, who will finally be crowned after being next in line to the throne for 70 years.

• Fashion’s biggest night aka Met Gala was kicked off yesterday. Let the memes begin.

• Tomorrow is Pak Vs Nz 3rd-ODI (Fingers crossed on Fakhar's fourth-consecutive ODI century)

In this week’s edition:

🍫 Chocolate’s supremacy

💊 20% = 🥜

👨‍💼 World’s best personal assistant?

🔎 No data for data darbar

- The Itla Squad 💼

Business

Global 🌎️

Unlike J.Lo, our love for chocolate is costing all of us a lot

Maybe it was just us who were cutting down on chocolates due to inflation? ☹️ We guess so as Mondelez International just announced that they are expecting to make more sales this year despite multiple rounds of price hikes - thanks to people's continued love for their chocolate, biscuits, and baked snacks. It's like they know our weakness for chocolate and are using it to their advantage.

Some numbers: Mondelez, the maker of Oreo, is now expecting organic net revenue to grow more than 10% in 2023. That's a major increase from their earlier prediction of 5% to 7%. Hershey Co, another big player in the industry, is also forecasting strong revenue and profit growth thanks to higher prices and steady demand.

It’s not all rainbows and unicorns: Mondelez's gross margin fell 80 basis points to 37.6% due to rising production costs and pushback from European retailers and customers after a January price hike. Though the disruption was less severe than anticipated, the finance chief warned of a potential impact in Q2. The CEO confirmed ongoing negotiations and price hikes.

TLDR: Mondelez International expects to make more sales this year despite price hikes, with a predicted 10% increase in organic net revenue. However, Mondelez's gross margin fell to 37.6% due to production costs and European pushback on price hikes.

What else is new in news

✶ The price is right...except in Europe. Consumers there aren't too happy about the latest hikes, while Americans are like “hold my beer”. Industry analysts, and economists say that Europeans are less willing than Americans to pay higher prices for consumer goods.

Local 🇵🇰

Pak’s drug manufacturers to Pak’s govt: Thanks but no thanks

The Ministry of Finance in Pakistan revealed that retail prices of medicines will experience a 20% increase, with essential drugs also rising by 14% as the country is struggling with high inflation and a depreciating currency.

Rewind: This move was the result of a months-long request by drug manufacturers and importers to raise prices. However, the government pushed back against this demand as it cares about the people (read: it feared the loss of support months before the national general elections).

Don’t expect ‘thanks’ from drug manufacturers: Farooq Bukhari, head of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) said that they had asked for a 38.5% hike, but what the government announced was nothing but ‘peanuts’ to them.

TLDR: Pakistan raises medicine prices by 20% for retail and 14% for essential drugs amid economic challenges. The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association is dissatisfied, claiming that the increase falls short of their requested 38.5% hike.

News Flash

✶Pakistan is preparing to import oil from Russia, with the first shipment expected to arrive in May. This move has the potential to provide financial relief to the struggling country but also presents several challenges and uncertainties.

Tech

Global 🌎️

Alexa, will you be the world’s best personal assistant?

Us: Alexa, can you be a bit more smart?

Alexa: Okay.

Us: 🤯 

It looks like Alexa is about to get a lot more interesting. Amazon is working on a new large language model (LLM) that will give the device greater capabilities beyond just setting reminders and playing music.

Alexa = the world’s best personal assistant? At least that’s what the vision Amazon has for Alexa. It sounds like a big job considering the vast range of domains Alexa is expected to operate in. That's where advancements in large language models and generative AI come into play. Furthermore, with Alexa's current position, which boasts millions of endpoints in use across various areas such as entertainment, shopping, and smart homes, Amazon has a solid foundation to build upon.

Amazon isn’t the only one: ChatGPT has got everyone talking about LLMs and big tech companies are trying to catch up with the AI game by integrating LLM-based upgrades into their products. Some reports say that Apple is currently working on LLM-based improvements for Siri. Google's Assistant is probably doing the same thing.

TLDR: Amazon is building a new large language model for Alexa, aiming to make it the world's best personal assistant across a range of domains. With millions of endpoints already in use, Alexa has a solid foundation to build upon.

What else is new in news

✶Microsoft is hooking up small businesses with a money-making tool inside Microsoft Teams, allowing them to earn cash from appointments, classes, one-on-one sessions, and even webinars but like most good things, it’s only available for US and Canadian citizens. 

Local 🇵🇰

No data for Data Darbar this April

It's a dry season for Pakistan's startup funding as not a single deal was made in April 2023 for Pakistani startups for the first time in three years. Mutaher Khan, who is a Data Darbar Co-founder, said this last happened in May 2020 when Covid was all over the place.

Don’t start blaming Pak’s startup ecosystem just yet: Mutaher says that the decline in startup funding in Pakistan isn't just because of the country's economic issues, but it's also happening globally. Funding and deals worldwide have gone down, even below pre-Covid levels. According to him, experts blame this on central banks raising interest rates. Until Pakistan's economic issues get resolved, the startup industry in the country will continue to face funding problems.

TLDR: In April 2023, Pakistani startups faced a funding drought with no deals made, as reported by Data Darbar. This global trend is not solely due to Pakistan's economic issues but also central banks raising interest rates. The startup industry in Pakistan will continue to struggle with funding challenges until economic issues are resolved.

Tech tour of news

✶ Google brings “App Growth Lab” to Pakistan. The aim of this four-month initiative is to discover app developers, studios, and businesses with great potential who are keen to expand and boost their growth.

More interesting Itla (اطلاع) we consumed:

🧸 Eid and the long weekend gave us some time to do some reading. Talk Like TED by Carmine Gallo - with its brilliant and practical tips on public-speaking secrets from the world’s top minds - got us thinking about all the project and recruitment presentations we could've aced if only we had read it back in university. Good thing that it’s as brilliant and practical for post-grad life too.