Day: December 22, 2021

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Hitachi Energy wins major contract for the first-of-its-kind sub-sea power transmission network in the MENA region advancing a sustainable energy future for Abu Dhabi

HVDC Light® will connect low-carbon power from the mainland grid to ADNOC’s production operations as a strategic project to enable a sustainable, flexible and secure power supply.

Zurich, Switzerland, Dec. 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hitachi Energy today announced it has won a major order from Samsung C&T Corporation, one of the world’s largest engineering and construction companies, to connect ADNOC’s offshore operations to the onshore power grid in the United Arab Emirates owned and operated by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA).

Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light® technology and MACHTM digital control platform1 will enable the transfer of cleaner and more efficient power from the mainland to power ADNOC’s offshore production operations, enabling a carbon footprint reduction of ADNOC’s offshore operations by more than thirty percent.

This innovative solution reinforces Hitachi Energy’s commitment to helping customers and countries to transition towards a carbon-neutral future and help enable the ‘2050 Net-Zero  Initiative’ of the UAE.

With a capacity of 3,200 megawatts (MW), the two HVDC links will be by far the most powerful power-from-shore solution in the Middle East and North America (MENA) region to date. It is also the first HVDC power-from-shore solution outside Norwegian waters. This innovative solution reflects how Hitachi Energy continues to pioneer technology to address the growing interest from national and independent oil and gas companies to power their offshore production facilities with carbon-free energy from onshore power grids.

“We are proud to be enabling Abu Dhabi and ADNOC to make significant progress on their pathway toward achieving the United Arab Emirates’ ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2050,” said Claudio Facchin, CEO of Hitachi Energy. He continued, “At Hitachi Energy we are championing the urgency of the clean energy transition, and this major order is further evidence that we are a ‘go to’ partner for developing and deploying technologies and solutions that are advancing the world’s energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure.”

Mr. SH Kim, Procurement Manager at Samsung C&T Corporation, commented, “In Hitachi Energy, we have selected a trusted partner who brings deep global competence and a strong mindset of collaboration and innovation.” SH Kim continued, “Together, we will serve ADNOC with pioneering technologies that are proven to deliver for such a large HVDC project.”

The entire power-from-shore project will comprise two HVDC power links, which will connect two clusters of offshore oil and gas production facilities to the mainland power grid, a distance of up to 140 kilometers for each cluster.

Hitachi Energy is supplying four converter stations, which convert AC power to DC for transmission in the subsea cables, then reconvert it to AC from DC for use in the offshore power systems. The HVDC technology will be supplied from Hitachi Energy’s global competence centers. Also included in the order are system studies, design and engineering, supply, installation supervision and commissioning. Hitachi Energy will support the customers with a long-term life-cycle service agreement leveraging digital technologies to ensure system availability and reliability over the HVDC links’ long operating life.

HVDC Light is a voltage source converter technology that was pioneered by Hitachi Energy. It is the preferred technology for many grid applications, including interconnecting national power grids, integrating offshore wind parks with mainland transmission systems, feeding more power into congested city centers, interconnecting asynchronous networks that operate at different frequencies, and power from shore.

HVDC Light’s defining features include uniquely compact converter stations (which is extremely important in space-critical applications like offshore wind, offshore production facilities and city-center infeeds), exceptionally low electrical losses, and black-start capability to restore power after a grid outage.

Hitachi Energy pioneered commercial HVDC technology almost 70 years ago and has delivered more than half of the world’s HVDC Classic projects and more than 70 percent of the world’s voltage source conversion HVDC projects.

Notes:

  1. Modular Advanced Control for HVDC (MACH™)
  2. The estimated reduction in carbon footprint is based on Hitachi Energy’s own calculations.

About Hitachi Energy

Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We serve customers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the value chain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world’s energy system to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 38,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of approximately $10 billion USD.

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Rebecca Bleasdale
Hitachi Energy Ltd.
+41 78643 2613
rebecca.bleasdale@hitachienergy.com
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HPTN Studies Inform FDA’s Approval of ViiV Healthcare’s Long-Acting Cabotegravir Injections for HIV Prevention

DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) studies HPTN 083 and HPTN 084 helped provide important information for yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve ViiV Healthcare’s long-acting cabotegravir (CAB-LA) injections for the prevention of HIV. Sponsored and co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), these studies showed that CAB-LA injected once every eight weeks was superior to daily oral tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) for HIV prevention among cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men (HPTN 083) and cisgender women (HPTN 084). Both studies also demonstrated that CAB-LA was well-tolerated, offering a new and important pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) option for individuals at risk for HIV infection. ViiV Healthcare will market CAB-LA for PrEP under the brand name Apretude.

“This is a truly critical milestone for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis providing a safe and effective alternative to daily pills,” said Dr. Myron Cohen, HPTN co-principal investigator, and director of the Institute for Global Health at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. “Until we have a cure or vaccine, more prevention options that meet the needs of individuals at risk for HIV around the world are essential.”

HPTN 083 was co-funded by NIAID and ViiV Healthcare. HPTN 084 was co-funded by NIAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and ViiV Healthcare. Study product was provided by ViiV Healthcare and Gilead Sciences, Inc. Three other NIH institutes also collaborated on HPTN 083 and HPTN 084: the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

HPTN 083 enrolled 4,570 cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men at research sites in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam. In the study, 52 HIV infections occurred, with 12 new infections in the CAB arm and 39 new infections in the TDF/FTC arm. These findings translate to a 69 percent reduction in incident HIV infections in study participants given CAB-LA compared to TDF/FTC.

HPTN 084 enrolled 3,223 cisgender women at research sites in Botswana, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. There were three new infections in the CAB arm and 36 new infections in the TDF/FTC arm, a 92 percent reduction in incident HIV infections in study participants given CAB-LA compared to TDF/FTC.

“HIV continues to disproportionately impact specific populations who need new HIV prevention options that are not only convenient but also highly effective,” said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, HPTN co-principal investigator, director of ICAP, and professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University in New York. “CAB-LA is a long-awaited and welcomed addition to the HIV prevention toolkit, offering a potentially convenient option for so many around the world.”

About the HPTN

The HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) is a worldwide collaborative clinical trials network that brings together investigators, ethicists, community members, and other partners to develop and test the safety and efficacy of interventions designed to prevent the acquisition and transmission of HIV. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, Office of The Director, the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, all part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, co-fund the HPTN. The HPTN has collaborated with more than 85 clinical research sites in 19 countries to evaluate new HIV prevention interventions and strategies in populations with a disproportionate HIV burden. The HPTN research agenda – more than 50 trials ongoing or completed with over 161,000 participants enrolled and evaluated – is focused primarily on discovering new HIV prevention tools and evaluating integrated strategies, including biomedical interventions combined with behavioral risk reduction interventions and structural interventions. For more information, visit hptn.org.

Media inquiries: Eric Miller, +1.919.384.6465; emiller@fhi360.org

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IT Minister Urges Ericsson Pakistan to Hire Local Youth

Delegation of Ericsson Pakistan Pvt. Ltd. called on Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Syed Amin Ul Haque, on Wednesday.

Matters related to digitalization and mobile phone manufacturing were discussed during the meeting.

Talking to the delegation, the Federal Minister for IT said that strong measures were underway for connectivity both in urban and rural areas of the country. He said that the provision of low price and quality mobile phones is the need of the hour. Pakistan is a mega-market of technology, and there is great potential in our youth, the minister remarked.

Syed Amin Ul Haque urged Ericsson to employ the services of skilled Pakistani youth. He said there were five National Incubation Centers (NICs) in Pakistan presently, adding that two more Incubation Centers will be operative in Hyderabad and Faisalabad in the next six months.

Speaking at the occasion, Chairman Ericsson, Ekow Nelson, said that Ericsson wanted expansion and diversification in Pakistan. We are committed to bringing investment and the best technology to Pakistan, he added.

Secretary IT, Dr. Sohail Rajput, and senior officers of the Ministry were also present.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Govt Doubles Local Car Production Target Under New Auto Policy

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chaudhry, has said that the government has set a 0.5 million car production target under the new auto policy.

The minister after the cabinet briefing informed the media that the government has set a 0.5 million production target from the current level of cars production of 240,000 under the new auto policy. He also said that there is a growth in the auto sector as there are now 15 car manufacturers in the country while banks loans for car financing also increased to Rs. 378 billion from Rs. 240 billion.

There was a considerable increase in car production, motorbikes and tractors in the country while the sale was also showing significant growth during the last two years. He also said that wealth creation is improving as not only the textile but IT exports have been increased by 38 percent.

The Minister further stated that the production of crops was very encouraging this year with cotton production of 8.5 million bales and highest ever rice production of 8.8 million tonnes and sugarcane 88.1 million tonnes.

The Minister admitted that there was an increase in expenditure and this increase was primarily because of the import of vaccines and payment to our IPPs.

He said that the payment was made because expensive plants of power generation were set up on imported fuel during the tenure of the previous government led by Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif due to which electricity in Pakistan is expensive.

The minister said that the cabinet notified the national food security management committee for approval of national food security with the prime minister in the chair and some ministers and secretaries as its members.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Habib Bank and China Machinery Engineering Pen MoU on Agriculture

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) on Agricultural Cooperation was signed towards the end of the CPEC Industrial Cooperation B2B Investment Conference in Lahore.

Federal Board of Investment (BOI), in collaboration with the Punjab government, organized a B2B Investment Conference where Minister of State and Chairman BOI, Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, and Secretary BOI, Fareena Mazhar, were the keynote speakers, while other speakers included SAPM on CPEC Affairs, Khalid Mansoor, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque, and Minister of Industries and Commerce Punjab, Mian Aslam Iqbal.

Chairman BOI highlighted that CPEC Industrial Cooperation is all-inclusive in its scope and open to third-party participation. He invited the business community from China and all over the world to invest in Pakistan’s economic sectors.

Ahsan stressed that Pakistan has a liberal investment regime and apprised the participants on the various investor-friendly policies introduced by the incumbent government, including electric vehicle policy, mobile manufacturing, construction sector policies, Sole Enterprise Special Economic Zone Regulations 2020, SEZ Zone Enterprise Admin, and Sale/Lease/Sublease of Plot Regulations 2021.

The Chairman also informed the participants about the “Pak-China B2B Investment Portal,” which has been developed by BOI in collaboration with the China Council for International Investment Promotion, and both local and Chinese companies are being encouraged to register for creating the possibility of materializing potential JV opportunities.

The Chairman BOI further elaborated, “Pakistan accords top priority to the development of Special Economic Zones under CPEC.” He explained that currently, out of the nine CPEC SEZs, three are at an advanced stage of development, including Allama Iqbal Industrial City in Punjab, Rashakai SEZ in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Dhabeji SEZ in Sindh. He further informed that attractive fiscal incentives are being offered under SEZs, including a tax-free period of 10 years and custom duty exemption on import of capital goods to both the developer and enterprises housed in the SEZs.

Secretary BOI, Fareena Mazhar, stated that there are ample opportunities for foreign investors to invest with 100 percent equity or joint ventures in various fields with the repatriation of investment and profit allowed with legal protection provisioned under the Acts of Parliament to foreign investment. The Secretary further added that government has a uniform treatment for local and foreign investors, along with 100 percent repatriation of profits and dividends, and there is no requirement of minimum investment for businesses startups.

While apprising the participants on the “Pakistan Regulatory Modernization Initiative,” Fareena stated that the platform had been established with a mechanism to transform the regulatory landscape across multifaceted tiers of government in Pakistan.

Fareena underscored that several international corporations and businesses have a long history of association with Pakistan and are earning a substantial return on their investments. Therefore, businesses communities are invited to reap optimum benefits from the lucrative and liberal investment regime of the government and explore investment opportunities available in different sectors of the national economy.

Special Assistant to PM on CPEC, Khalid Mansoor, spoke about the way forward on the process of industrialization in Pakistan under CPEC. He shared that now the entire focus is on phase-II of CPEC, which will be all about expansion and development. He added that during this phase, the four SEZs are being focused, with special attention given to textiles, IT, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, and renewable energy. He also apprised the participants of the recent improvements introduced in the legal regime to facilitate investors by BOI & CPEC authority in regards to one window operations.

Provincial Minister of Punjab for Industries & Commerce, Mian Aslam Iqbal, talked in detail about the potential of economic sectors of Pakistan, especially those of Punjab with a special focus on agriculture, textile, food processing, etc. He also shared that there is a good opportunity for Chinese firms to invest in the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority and mentioned the tourism sector of Pakistan as having great potential.

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, Nong Rong, and Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque, appreciated the steps taken by the government of Pakistan to further strengthen Pak-China relations by exploring areas of mutual cooperation. They also acknowledged BOI’s role in creating a business-friendly environment and facilitating Chinese investors every step of the way and renewed their commitment to work in close coordination with BOI.

The conference was a huge success in terms of turnover as more than seventy Chinese companies participated with an active interest in investing in Pakistan, and many other local and foreign investors were also present. The Board of Investment successfully sensitized potential investors about the investment regime of Pakistan, and the conference was followed by a B2B interaction between Chinese and Pakistani companies.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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QisstPay Gets Pakistan’s First Non Banking Finance Company License

For the first time in the country’s bleak startup history, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has awarded a Non-Banking Finance License to the highly popular Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) startup QisstPay.

According to the company’s co-founder and CEO, Jordan Olivas, this license is a huge first for the business. With it, QisstPay is now Pakistan’s first and only legally operational BNPL and is eligible to expand into other areas such as vehicle financing, home financing, microfinancing, leasing in the future.

It is a significant step by the SECP at a time when the BNPL is facing regulatory scrutiny around the world, particularly in the United States and the European Union.

On account of being the first player of a BNPL service in the field, QisstPay’s latest challenge is getting both consumers and merchants on the same page by convincing them to use this new product. By focusing solely on a complicated and unusual market like Pakistan’s, CEO Olivas is positive that this new change promises big rewards for QisstPay in 2022.

As the name suggests, QisstPay is the fastest-growing installment payment service for emerging markets, and provides a payment solution to online buyers, merchants, and business partners while increasing their consumer base. It is Pakistan’s first BNPL platform, and is a promising game-changer in the world of e-commerce and fintech.

QisstPay allows its clients to avail of interest-free installments and promotes 60 percent higher traffic and thereby, higher-order rates leading to an increase in sales. By allowing BNPL services, QisstPay focuses on merchant and customer acquisition by stimulating bigger growths instead of transactional volume.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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