JS Global Capital has been adjudged the winner of the 26th Corporate Excellence Award in the Investment & Securities Sector, by the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP).

The Award was presented to the CEO of JS Global Capital, Mr G.M. Malkani at a ceremony held today, with Mr. Salim Raza – Governor, State Bank of Pakistan as the Chief Guest.

Mr. G.M. Malkani, CEO – JS Global Capital, outlined, “We are very pleased to receive this Corporate Excellence Award by the Management Association of Pakistan. We have always played an important role in leading development within the corporate sector, and this award is a testimony to that”.

JS Global Capital also plans to launch the next generation of online trading system in Pakistan very shortly, in partnership with Mubasher, Dubai. Last year, Asiamoney declared JS Global Capital as the Best Local Brokerage House in Pakistan as part of their Brokers Poll for 2008.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Limited(RBS), has launched a summer promotion on its credit cards. The promotional campaign, which will run for a month starting May 1, is developed in conjunction with Pakistan’s leading carrier, Airblue, one of the bank’s co-brand card partners.

All RBS credit card holders will have a chance to win two return tickets to the UAE on Airblue through a daily lucky draw. The promotion is also open to new customers who successfully apply for an RBS credit card during the campaign period.

Head of retail banking RBS Pakistan Salman Sarwar Butt said, “This unique promotion further demonstrates our commitment to our customers and rewards for them banking with RBS.”

The board of directors of JS Investments Limited (JSIL), the management company of JS Income Fund (JS IF) and JS Aggressive Income Fund (JS AIF) approved interim dividends for JS IF and JS AIF for the third quarter of FY09, ended march 31, 2009.

A payout of Rs 4.50 per unit of par value of Rs.100 (4.5%) was approved for JS IF while interim payout of Rs 1.50 per unit of par value Rs.100 (1.5%) was approved for unit holders of JS AIF.

This brings the total payout for the year to Rs 7.55 per unit of par value of Rs.100 and Rs 4.25 per unit of par value of Rs.100 for JS IF and JS AIF respectively.

Unit holders who have opted for cash payout will receive cash payment while unit holders who have opted for bonus units will be allocated units at the net asset value at the close of business on March 31, 2009.

The above entitlement will be paid to the unit holders, whose names appear in the register of unit holders at the close of business on April 16, 2009.

‘We are proud of the fact that income funds being managed by JSIL are amongst the best performing income funds of the industry with JS Income Fund at the top of the league table’, said Najam Ali, CEO of JSIL.

JS IF is one of the oldest Income Funds in Pakistan.

Dadex Eternit Limited has signed an MoU with Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited to work together towards a range of mutually agreed collaborative efforts for promotion of High Efficiency Irrigation Systems in Pakistan.

Through this cooperation, Engro Polymer will provide Dadex Eternit with access to EPCL’s training facilities and databases at various locations in Pakistan, while Dadex Eternit will provide High Efficiency Irrigation Systems and promote use of quality UPVC pipes locally manufactured for HEIS. It will also promote PVC-Geomembrane lining for reservoirs and water courses.

J.S. Academy for the Deaf, a project of the “Noor-e-Ali Trust” celebrated its 5 year’s achievements with a spring festival and acknowledged its students and teachers who have achieved academic excellence over these years.

The Academy is unique in nature as it has an open-door policy to accept deaf children who have either been deprived of schooling or have been rejected by other schools due to age criteria. For the past 5 years, J.S. Academy has achieved excellent results in the Matric and Inter-board examinations and has been acknowledged as an outstanding Special Education institution in the country.

During the official ceremony, the J.S. Academy awarded its outstanding students and teachers for achieving excellence in academics. The awards were given by the guests of honor Mr. Jahangir Siddiqui and Mr. Munawar Alam Siddiqui – Chairman, M&JS Foundation.

The focus at the J.S. Academy has always been to impart quality education to deaf children, as well as ensuring total development and grooming of its students by a highly-qualified team of teachers who impart education via Sign language.

J.S. Academy for the Deaf is a project of the Noor-e-Ali Trust, and its aim is to teach the deaf and hearing impaired children to read, write & communicate in their own language which is the Sign Language. The school has been operational since 2004 and has achieved a very high ranking in providing Quality Education to both deaf boys and girls.

The J.S. Academy for the Deaf is supported by the Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation through annual donations. M&JS Foundation is the charitable wing of the JS Group, and the foundation supports many organizations and initiatives. The primary focus areas of the foundation are healthcare, education and sustainable development through social enterprises.

EFU Life Insurance Ltd. and United Bank Ltd. (UBL) have launched a range of insurance products under the brand name UBL BetterLife.

These co-branded insurance products, the result of a strategic alliance between UBL and EFU Life, shall be available to customers from selected branches of UBL. The products will meet an emerging need for financial security as well as the desire for a better future for the familites of the insured.

The four product variants being offered under the BetterLife brand carry the sub-title of Education Plan, Marriage Plan, Savings Plan and Retirement Plan.

These are designed to support families by contributing to the cost of children’s education, marriage of children who come of age, supplementing the income of working people and helping them improve their quality of life, as well as providing the much needed financial security to people after retirement.

Selling insurance products through banking channels is a recognized international practice now. UBL & EFU Life ‘bancassurance’ products will be offered in a phased manner through the UBL branch network across Pakistan.

JS Bank Limited, one of Pakistan’s fastest growing banks, is planning to open 80 new conventional and sub branches in the year 2009, which will bring their total footprint to 119 branches in over 30 cities across Pakistan.

The announcement comes on the heels of JS Bank completing its targets for 2008 by opening 39 branches across 13 cities of Pakistan. With the successful completion of their 2008 branch expansion targets, JS Bank had applied for a significant number of new licenses with the SBP, which have now been reportedly approved by the regulatory authorities.

Commenting on the subject of the bank’s aggressive expansion plans in 2009, Naveed Qazi, President and CEO, JS Bank stated, “The SBP has been a very proactive regulator who keeps the interests of bank customers supreme. It is an honour for us that the SBP has been very forthcoming in its support for JS Bank opening such a large number of branches. The new branches will not only treble the size of JS Bank’s network across Pakistan but will also increase our outreach to newer places and more customers. It is also a statement of confidence that the SBP has in upcoming banks like JS Bank, which is a very encouraging sign for the growth of the banking industry.

Our branch team has performed immensely well to ensure that we fulfilled all our last year’s network expansion commitments to the SBP and we hope to do the same this year as well”.

Speaking on the subject, Majid Hamid, Group Head – Retail Banking, JS Bank, stated, “The SBP allowing us to open 80 branches is a great statement of trust and a huge opportunity for JS Bank to increase its outreach to customers across Pakistan. This is in line with our vision of going beyond developed urban markets to service customers even in smaller cities and towns. We have a number of exciting initiatives in line with SBP directives to bring more customers to the banking mainstream and will use the opportunity provided through this branch expansion to bring world class banking services to a number of new markets and customers across Pakistan”.

The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has maintained the asset manager rating of JS Investments Limited (JSIL) at’AM2+’. This is the highest rating among all asset management companies in Pakistan.

The rating reflects JSIL’s leading position in the asset management industry as reflected by the size and diversity of its asset under management (AUM), successful track record, relatively superior systems and processes, qualified and experienced management and association with the leading JS Group.

The performance and liquidity profile of the company’s funds, mainly income funds, have remained strong during the current crisis. Although current challenges in the operating environment have impeded growth prospects for the overall asset management industry, the company, on the back of its robust business strategy, including strategic partnerships with strong banks in Pakistan, is better placed to face these challenges.