The Board of Directors of JS Value Fund Limited (a closed-end equity fund), has approved interim cash dividend of 5%, i.e. Re. 0.50 per share.

In addition, JS Value Fund Limited reported a net income of over Rs 281 million for the nine months ended March 31, 2011. This translates into earnings per share of Rs 2.38. The net assets of the fund as at March 31, 2011 were Rs 1.286 billion. The NAV registered an increase of 28.10% as opposed to 20.98% increase witnessed in KSE-30 Index, thereby outperforming the benchmark by 7.12%.

This was announced in a meeting held on April 25th 2011, which approved the financial results for the period ended March 31, 2011. The above entitlement will be paid to the share holders whose names appear in the register of share holders on the close of business on May 23, 2011.

The Board of Directors of JS Investments Limited (JSIL), the Management Company of JS Income Fund (JS IF) and JS Cash Fund (JS CF), approved interim dividends for JS IF and JS CF for the third quarter of FY 2011, ended March 31, 2011.

A pay out of Rs. 2.00 per unit was approved for the Unit Holders of JS IF, which takes the total payout for the current fiscal year to Rs. 6.00 per unit, while an interim payout of Rs. 2.50 per unit was approved for the Unit Holders of JS CF, which takes the total payout for the current fiscal year to Rs. 6.50 per unit.

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Unit Holders who have opted for cash payout will receive cash payment while Unit Holders who have opted for bonus units were allocated units at the ex-net asset value at the close of business on March 26, 2011. The above entitlement will be paid to the Unit Holders, whose names appeared in the register of Unit Holders at the close of business on March 26, 2011.

At the occasion, Rashid Mansur the CEO of JSIL said “We are extremely pleased by these results and hope to continue this outstanding performance throughout the current financial year. I want to take this opportunity to thank our valued investors, who have shown immense trust in our expertise, and want to take this opportunity to assure them that we will continue to work for value creation for our esteemed Unit Holders.”

JS Bank announced the launch of JS Bank SMS Alert Service for its customers. This initiative is part of a host of technology-enabled value-added services that we plan to launch during the course of 2011 and beyond. The service will be available to all account holders on all GSM mobile networks across Pakistan.

In the initial phase it will enable customers to keep track of all transactions in their accounts such as branch deposits and withdrawals, ATM cash withdrawals, cheque clearing, account balance, fund transfers etc. In time, the scope of this service will be broadened to include other services as well that will enable customers to access a variety of information about their accounts on demand.

The Board of Directors of JS Investments Limited (JSIL), the Management Company of JS Income Fund (JS IF) and JS Cash Fund (JS CF), approved interim dividends for JS IF and JS CF for the half year of FY 2011, ended December 31, 2010.

A pay out of Rs. 2.00 per unit was approved for the Unit Holders of JS IF, which takes the total payout for the current fiscal year to Rs. 4.00 per unit, while an interim payout of Rs. 2.00 per unit was approved for the Unit Holders of JS CF, which takes the total payout for the current fiscal year to Rs. 4.00 per unit.

Unit Holders who have opted for cash payout will receive cash payment while Unit Holders who have opted for bonus units were allocated units at the ex-net asset value at the close of business on December 27, 2010.

The above entitlement will be paid to the Unit Holders, whose names appeared in the register of Unit Holders at the close of business on December 27, 2010. At the occasion, Rashid Mansur the CEO of JSIL said “We are extremely pleased by these half yearly results and hope to continue this outstanding performance throughout the current financial year. I want to thank our valued investors, who have shown immense faith in us, and want to take this opportunity to assure them that we will continue to work for value creation for our esteemed Unit Holders.”

The United Nations (UN), the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Sindh (PDMA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), JS Bank and The Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (MJSF) held a joint Conference at Mohatta Palace Museum focused on developing coordinated strategies to address humanitarian needs of flood hit communities.
Present at the conference were delegates from UN agencies such as, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), IOM, UN Habitat for Humanity, the World Food Program (WFP), along with representatives from major corporations, government agencies, foundations and the media.
The conference provided a comprehensive update on the current situation of areas affected by the floods, highlighted a few best practices of private and public partnerships in action to address key needs and discussed ideas for rehabilitation efforts.

Speaking at the conference, Manuel Bessler, Head of UN OCHA in Pakistan said “We need all hands on deck to respond in a timely and effective manner to growing humanitarian needs.  Therefore, the UN and its partners have a keen interest in fostering public private partnerships to further humanitarian action.”
Mr. Saleh Farooqui, Director General of PDMA Sindh added, “We are appealing for everyone to work together to ensure effective management of resources at a government and a non-government level for the benefit of the flood effected people.”
The conference served also as a platform for launching the concept of a Corporate Secretariat, a collaborative initiative aimed at maximizing the impact donors can make by channeling their support towards identified humanitarian needs and accelerating resource mobilization.
Such a forum would provide access to UN and government expertise and best practices.  As opportunities are identified factual data would be provided to guide decisions, design templates and implement ideas as well as facilitate logistical support.
Speaking on behalf of the Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, Mr. Ali Jehangir Siddiqui commented, “Less than 150 kilometers from Karachi the areas are still flood ravaged. Rehabilitation will require a broad-based coordinated effort well into the future.  Partnering with the local authorities and UN agencies has been key to effectively delivering relief.  We hope the Corporate Secretariat will engage other donors to leverage these resources and fill key gaps within the current humanitarian efforts”

Today, JS Bank and AllWorld Network announced the launch of Pakistan Fast Growth 25.  Business, NGO, and media leaders gathered for the launch of an initiative slated to be ‘an unprecedented program to find and advance the fast growth entrepreneurs creating the next economy of ideas and jobs.’

The Pakistan Fast Growth 25 is a program of AllWorld Network in partnership with Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter and was launched in collaboration with JS Bank Limited, FPCCI and other local partners. AllWorld has similar programs in Saudi Arabia, Jordan Lebanon, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, India and Turkey. AllWorld’s mission is to create 1 million jobs by 2015. AllWorld aims to achieve this by finding and advancing ALL the growth entrepreneurs of the emerging world, and building the largest entrepreneurship information system in the world.

Commenting on behalf of AllWorld Network its cofounder Anne Habiby said that “the Pakistan Fast Growth 25 companies, led by dynamic men and women, represent a new future of the country. We are honored to be working with JS Bank Limited and our other partners to put Pakistan’s growth entrepreneurs on the global radar screen.”

Commenting on the occasion, President & CEO of JS Bank Limited, Mr. Kalim-ur-Rehman stated “JS Bank Limited is a strong advocate of innovation and growth and by partnering with AllWorld we hope to recognize and commend entrepreneurial excellence that lies within Pakistan. It is through initiative like the Pakistan Fast Growth 25, an invaluable opportunity is presented to identify compelling stories of success from emerging entrepreneurs.  Now more than ever we need to find and support these new business leaders because they are the future of the country’s economy and they will send a signal to thousands of others that they too can succeed. Our complete support is with the AllWorld team and we hope to create a great blend of successful entrepreneurs that will represent Pakistan.”

Rehmatullah Javed, Chairman of FPCCI (Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries) Standing Committee on SME, speaking on the occasion said, “the Pakistan Fast Growth will highlight the role of the private sector in generating new ideas, new jobs and new industries. The Pakistan Fast Growth 25 will help identify entrepreneurship path for others to follow and will send a message around the world that Pakistan is a strong country for entrepreneurship.”

Addressing the gathering, Malik Ahmad Jalal, Director of Pakistan Fast Growth 25 said, “The solution to Pakistan’s economic challenges lies not in foreign lands, but in the entrepreneurial talent of its own citizens. Pakistani entrepreneurs have flourished in spite of some of the most restricting economic and security environments in the world. The Pakistan Fast Growth 25 is recognition of the spirit of these dynamic men and women who are a great resource and the best bet for Pakistan’s future.”

AllWorld was co-founded by Deirdre Coyle, Jr., Anne Habiby and Board chairman Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter. Professor Porter was described by the Times of London as the world’s “most influential management guru” and is widely regarded at the foremost authority on company and country competitiveness. Coyle and Habiby recently co-wrote the Harvard Business review article – The High-Intensity Entrepreneur.

In light of the massive ongoing floods that have engulfed our country, devastation and suffering are widespread, many have been rendered homeless without any food and water.  The Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that is currently heavily involved in this challenging endeavor by providing assistance to the affectees of the massive flood.

The Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation has been a strong advocate of various philanthropic activities in the past as well, including extensive relief efforts in the 2005 earthquake and the 2008 IDP crisis.

The current catastrophe at hand is the worst floods that have hit Pakistan with the death toll rising above 1600 people, with more than 20 million people directly affected and destroying all homes along the length of the Indus River. Starvation, disease and weakness are widespread and the threat of infections is becoming increasingly intense. Amongst these, diarrhea, respiratory infections and water borne diseases are the highest. There is a dire need to minimize the damage which is currently being caused by the lack of basic healthcare and amenities. The primary area of focus of the foundation is to provide food, water and medicine to all those affected.

Thus far, the Foundation has initiated relief efforts in Sindh, Southern Punjab and part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. To date, the Foundation has provided food rations, water and basic medical supplies to over 1,466 families amounting to an estimated 10,597 people in the affected areas which should last them for a period of 8-10 days. The Foundation has established 3 camps in Sindh and 1 in Punjab, and is providing food, medical support and other facilities to over 2500 people in its camps and to other camps as well.

One of the key NGO’s that the Foundation is collaborating with is the Sindh Rural Support Organization (SRSO) and the Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation (OAKDF) in addition to the Provincial and National Disaster Management Authorities. The foundation has also established a flood relief website www.mjsf.net that provides regular updates on their on going relief efforts and the situation on ground. Further more, it also guides donors how to donate. The foundation is now also accepting In Kind donations at select JS Bank Branches in Karachi.

The Foundations aims to continue to provide assistance those in dire need of help. The situation is undoubtedly much worse than imagined. Number of people is overwhelming as opposed to the relief efforts that have been carried out. There will be a significant increase in the number of affectees of in the foreseeable future. A lot needs to be done and urgent help is required. We hope to alleviate the pain and suffering of many through the efforts of the foundation and the generous donations of various.

The Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation representatives met with students on their return from a two week, NUS Summer Program on Economic & Enterprise Development. These fourteen students were selected after extensive interview sessions from 35 universities nationwide.

Mr. Ali J. Siddiqui, Director, Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, met and inspired the students in an informal meeting, sharing their learning and experiences from this program. The students also presented business idea that may be implemented in Pakistan.

The summer program attended by these students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was from 11th July to 24th July 2010. This program hosts undergraduate students from universities in various parts of the world and is an excellent opportunity for participants to learn about Singapore: how the smallest nation in Southeast Asia has progressed into a modern city-state and has grown into a thriving centre of commerce and industry.

Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation and Sajjad Foundation annually sponsors the entire cost of the Pakistani students at this program as its’ endeavor to invest in education and to initiate and encourage entrepreneurship in the youth of today.

The participating students were from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Institute of Business Administration Sukkar (IBA Sukkar), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Greenwich University Karachi, National University of Modern Languages Islamabad,  National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (FAST NU), University College of Islamabad, NUST Business School Islamabad, NUST SEECS Islamabad, Bahria Islamabad, Government College University Lahore.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her visit to Pakistan announced more than $500 million in a new facilitation programs for Pakistan. Clinton made the announcements at the second U.S-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, a forum on multiple issues, including energy and public diplomacy. It was stated that the Overseas Private Investment Corp (OPIC) will provide $50 million to the JS Private Equity Fund II LLC, which has a target capitalization of $150 million and seeks to achieve superior capital appreciation through opportunistic investments in companies positioned to benefit from positive macro-economic developments in Pakistan.
OPIC is an arm of the US Government which assists US businesses to invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets and supports US foreign policy. This allocation was a follow up of the convention mentioned in Obama’s Cairo speech last year of stimulating innovation and technology transfer in Muslim countries, predominantly. OPIC selected JSPE, as it is the largest and the most successful private equity firm operating in Pakistan.
JSPE’s mandate with this stipulation would be to promote access and growth of technology by empowering companies in the sectors such as IT, healthcare, education, infrastructure, telecom, media, business and financial services and clean-tech. Being part of the JS Group which is the leading financial services holding group in Pakistan, JSPE will capitalize on this commission to catalyze and facilitate private sector investments and enhance the region’s capacity in these underdeveloped sectors.