Category: 3. Business

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed bullish trend on Monday, gaining 1,704.79 points, a positive of 1.16 percent, closing at 148,196.42 points against 146,491.63 points last trading day.

A total of 610,314,508 shares were traded during the day as compared to 473,601,407 shares the previous trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs. 39.173 billion against Rs. 32.882 billion on the last trading day.

As many as 487 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 283 of them recorded gains and 175 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 29 companies remained unchanged.

The three top trading companies were WorldCall Telecom with 40,719,854 shares at Rs. 1.40 per share, Pervez Ahmed Company with 29,750,970 shares at Rs. 2.82 per share and Al-Shaheer Corporation with 26,351,931 shares at Rs. 12.24 per share.

Hoechst Pakistan Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs. 323.88 per share price, closing at Rs. 3,830.59, whereas the runner-up was PIA Holding Company Limited with Rs. 186.13 rise in its per share price to Rs 28,001.10.

Nestle Pakistan Limited witnessed a maximum decrease of Rs. 259.15 per share closing at Rs.  8,394.94 followed by Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited with Rs. 100.00 decline in its share price to close at Rs. 31,900.00.

Garaj, Jazz’s enterprise cloud services brand, has announced the launch of Webkaari, an all-in-one digital solution designed to help businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals establish a strong online presence with ease. Combining a user-friendly website builder with AI-powered content tools, built-in SEO optimization, and a complete e-commerce platform, Webkaari enables SMEs to create, manage, and grow their digital footprint without complex technical skills.

Pakistan, among the world’s top five freelance markets with hundreds of millions in annual exports, still sees many freelancers and small businesses lacking professional websites or secure payment systems, limiting global competitiveness.

Webkaari addresses this with an intuitive website builder, mobile-responsive designs, built-in SEO, and—for the first time in a Garaj solution—a secure gateway enabling instant card, bank transfer, and wallet transactions. This is critical in a market where B2B payments take days to clear and professionals face barriers to reliable online transactions, echoing global trends where over one-fifth of SMEs and freelancers report rising late or missed payments each year.

“With Webkaari, we are making it easier than ever for Pakistan’s businesses and creators to take control of their online presence,” said Abdul Rehman Usmani, Chief Product Officer at Jazz. “This platform brings together everything a business needs to succeed in the digital marketplace—from building a website to selling products online—with AI-powered assistance, secure instant payments, and SEO readiness built in. Our mission is to equip entrepreneurs with the tools they need to grow, compete, and thrive in today’s digital economy.”

The platform also includes appointment booking software for service-based businesses, seamless domain registration, and custom email addresses to enhance brand credibility. With built-in SEO optimization tools, Webkaari ensures that websites and online stores are search engine-ready, giving businesses the visibility they need to attract and retain customers.

By combining ease of use with advanced functionality, Webkaari underscores Jazz’s commitment to creating platforms that remove barriers to growth, expand participation in the global economy, and improve lives and livelihoods through technology. It advances Jazz’s ServiceCo vision of moving from connectivity to capability, serving over 100 million users through a portfolio spanning fintech (JazzCash), entertainment (Tamasha), digital self-care (SIMOSA), InsurTech (FikrFree), enterprise cloud solutions (Garaj), and gaming (GameNow).

To increase shareholder awareness and strengthen corporate governance, the Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDC) and the Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) have jointly developed Shareholder Agahi, an innovative digital portal designed to equip shareholders with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed and impactful decisions.

This initiative has been undertaken under the guidance of the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

The Shareholder Agahi initiative was officially launched on Monday, August 18, 2025, during SECP’s and PBA’s consultative workshop, Unlocking Capital Market Potential for Banks. The launch video was unveiled by Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, alongside Mr. Akif Saeed, Chairman SECP, in the presence of Mr. Badiuddin Akber, CEO CDC; Mr. Jameel Ahmad, Governor SBP; and Ms. Shafaq Fauzil Azim, President & CEO PICG.

The Shareholder Agahi portal includes a range of user-friendly features to help investors stay informed and engaged. The Shareholder Rights section explains key entitlements and responsibilities, with helpful FAQs, video tutorials, and recorded webinars. The Shareholder Education section offers online courses, webinars, and learning modules to build knowledge around corporate governance and investing.

A dedicated Library brings together important updates, guidelines, news, research, and articles in one place. Moreover, the Investor Information section helps shareholders keep track of upcoming meetings, view company announcements, and participate in e-voting.

Shareholder Agahi is a landmark initiative to enhance investor education and promote strong corporate governance. PICG has played a vital role in developing accessible resources on shareholder rights and governance best practices, while CDC has provided the technical infrastructure to facilitate seamless access to resources, company disclosures, e-voting, and virtual meetings. Together, they have created a portal that empowers shareholders to stay informed and actively engage in the capital markets.

“CDC plays a key role in developing the infrastructure that supports Pakistan’s capital markets,” said Mr. Badiuddin Akber, CEO CDC. “By leveraging our expertise in market operations, we continuously work to enhance transparency and investor participation. Shareholder Agahi is a prime example of how we advance the market by providing investors with seamless access to information and engagement tools.”

“PICG is pleased to partner with CDC on this SECP-guided initiative under the Capital Market Development Plan, advancing corporate governance in line with global best practices on shareholder rights and transparent business conduct. We look forward to expanding resources and fostering a robust platform for knowledge exchange and dialogue among shareholders, regulators, corporations, and other key stakeholders,” said Ms. Shafaq Fauzil Azim, President & CEO PICG.

Accessible in both Urdu and English, Shareholder Agahi ensures inclusivity and ease of use for investors across Pakistan. Users can visit www.shareholderagahi.com to explore the portal’s extensive resources and embark on their journey toward informed and empowered decision-making.

Pakistan has established a $1 billion Panda Bond program in China, marking a key step in diversifying the country’s external financing portfolio. The move is part of the government’s broader strategy to expand access to international capital markets while maintaining stability in debt management.

According to official documents, external financing will continue to rely primarily on multilateral and bilateral sources, which provide concessional terms and longer maturities. However, to broaden market access, the government now plans to re-enter global capital markets through Panda Bonds, Sustainable Bonds, and Eurobonds, depending on favorable global interest rate conditions and macroeconomic stability.

Under the newly launched program, Pakistan will issue an inaugural tranche of $200–250 million in fiscal year 2026, with additional issuances expected in the medium term. The Panda Bond initiative is seen as a critical step in mobilizing financing on more flexible terms and strengthening financial ties with Chinese markets.

Preparatory work is also underway for the issuance of Sustainable Bonds, supported by a Sustainable Financing Framework that has been finalized and is currently under Cabinet review. This framework will act as the foundation for upcoming sustainable bond issuances, ensuring alignment with international investor demand.

The structure of these instruments, including maturity periods, repayment terms, and interest rate types, will be designed to attract diverse investors. By introducing the Panda Bond program in China alongside plans for Sustainable and Eurobonds, Pakistan aims to reduce its reliance on traditional lenders and secure more balanced financing options.

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:

• In attempt to address ChatGPT’s sycophantic behavior, OpenAI released a new model that was less eager to please, and many users were not happy with the change.

• Taking to posts on Reddit and X, users reported the change feeling like the abrupt loss of a close friend, collaborator, or even romantic partner.

• OpenAI reversed the change on Tuesday, allowing the previous model to be accessible by paid users, but the episode illustrates what researchers are calling “AI Psychosis,” where overly-pleasing chatbots exacerbate delusions and create a false sense of romantic love.

In 2013, Spike Jonze’s Her—in which the main character falls in love with an AI-powered chatbot—was a novel sci-fi concept. Fast-forward 12 years later, and the film is now traipsing dangerously close to “prescient documentary” territory.

Last week, OpenAI released ChatGPT-5, a new version of the popular AI platform that (as most tech updates do) replaced the older versions that came before it. In the post announcing its launch, OpenAI reveals a litany of improvements, such as better coding, fewer hallucinations, and the like. But the really big news from the end-user perspective was that OpenAI made its new chatbot less of a boot-licking toady.

Users weren’t happy.

“Earlier this year, we released an update to GPT‑4o that unintentionally made the model overly sycophantic, or excessively flattering or agreeable,” OpenAI explains in the post. “Overall, GPT‑5 is less effusively agreeable, uses fewer unnecessary emojis, and is more subtle and thoughtful in follow‑ups compared to GPT‑4o.”

For months, article after article has detailed the rise of what’s called “AI Psychosis,” where an AI’s overly agreeable sycophantic behavior can create an outsized dependency on the platform and/or reinforce delusions. According to Psychology Today, researchers have identified three recurring themes in “AI psychosis” cases: Messianic missions (when a deeper truth of the universe is believed to be revealed), God-like AI, and (in Her-esque fashion) romantic love. In each of these cases, AI’s intense focus on user satisfaction creates a kind of cognitive doom loop, pulling users further down into delusions or engendering false ideals of romantic love.

Of course, ripping the groveling heart out of the model essentially forced some users to quit their self-described AI companions/friends/lovers/gods cold turkey, and people soon began voicing their displeasure. Multiple posts on Reddit—including one with an image of a mock memorial to ChatGPT-4o (AI generated, of course)—mourned the loss of the language model.

“We for sure underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them, even if GPT-5 performs better in most ways,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in response to the backlash. “Some users really want cold logic and some want warmth and a different kind of emotional intelligence. I am confident we can offer way more customization than we do now while still encouraging healthy use.”

For now, OpenAI’s game plan for “encouraging healthy use” is just bringing back the old, people-pleasing 4o model. On Tuesday, Altman said that “4o was back in the model picker” for paid users, but seemed to imply that future changes to the model could be coming: “If we ever do deprecate it, we will give plenty of notice.”

It’s no secret that the world is suffering through a loneliness epidemic, and while AI is a poor substitute for human companionship, it is a substitute nonetheless, and only enables the ongoing crisis. Unfortunately, it’s also a substitute that no flesh-and-blood human could ever hope to out-compete, especially when it comes to mindless, sycophantic devotion.

You Might Also Like