Karigar Training Institute held their first certificate distribution ceremony at the Institute’s premises. Young and literate men, who successfully completed their six-month training in 2009, were awarded certificates in plumbing, electrical house wiring, motor-cycle repairs and refrigeration/air-conditioning repair work. A number of awards were also given to trainees for meritorious performance, attendance and punctuality.

The Institute was established a year ago, primarily with funding provided by Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, which is the charitable wing of the JS Group. The primary focus areas of the foundation are healthcare, education and sustainable development through social enterprises. The Institute’s main aim is to provide vocational skills training to young men and women who have studied till high-school level. While a number of centres have been planned for development in different cities/towns of Pakistan, the first centre has been established in Karachi as a pilot project. Apart from the four trades in which certificates were awarded, this centre is developing 2-3 more programmes to be introduced later this year.

The certificate distribution ceremony was attended by trainees who qualified for the certificates, their parents, current trainees and a large number of dignitaries. Speakers included Chairman of the Institute, Mr. Munawar Alam Siddiqui, as well as the Chief Executive, Mr. Shamim Zafar. Mr. Zafar emphasized the need for life-long learning and importance of inculcating the habit of reflection to maximize learning from experience. The parent and trainees extolled the Institute’s high standards of training, discipline, weekly guest speakers’ programme and commitment of the trainers.

The Karigar Institute is affiliated with the Trade Testing Board of Government of Sindh and trainees are required to sit for a Board Examination. The Board also issues certificates to successful candidates.

The students of JS Academy for the Deaf hosted a spring festival to share the joys of spring with their other deaf friends who came together from different deaf schools of Karachi, at a ceremony held at their park. This ceremony brought together over 300 deaf participants from all over Karachi.

he main focus was to “break the barriers of communication” through music, dance, drama, and sign-language, and to prove that given the right kind of environment and nurturing, deaf children can excel in any field and are willing to take up challenges. These students showed today that even though they cannot hear or speak fluently, yet they have an excellent sense of rhythm, they can dance beautifully, they have an exceptional sense of humor; and they can perform skits with full energy.

The ceremony also awarded and acknowledged the high-achievers of the JS Academy who have excelled in their Matric and Inter-Board Examinations.

JS Academy for the Deaf provides quality education to deaf children who come from extremely poor families. The students not only get curriculum oriented education, but also develop their personalities to meet the challenges of their ever changing environment. The school has an open door policy and no child is denied the opportunity to receive education due to age restrictions or any other reason.

Barclays Bank PLC, Pakistan one of the largest global banks has signed a landmark distribution agreement with JS Investments Limited (JSIL), one of the leading asset management companies in Pakistan. Under the agreement, JS Income Fund (JS IF) and Unit Trust of Pakistan (UTP) will be available at Barclay’s branches across Pakistan.

The Distribution agreement was signed by Ali Raza Siddiqui, Director and Chief Investment Officer, JSIL and Khawaja Asif, Director Consumer Bank, Barclays Pakistan, in terms whereof JSIL appointed Barclays Bank PLC, Pakistan as a distribution company for the funds managed by JSIL. Other senior members of the management teams of both organizations were also present at the occasion.

While speaking at the signing ceremony, Ali Raza Siddiqui commented, “We are delighted at the signing of this agreement as this arrangement between JSIL and Barclays in Pakistan has the potential for great synergies in the future. Barclays is one of the largest global banks and partnering with them provides us better access to our broad customer base across the country, along with opening new avenues to reach a wide range of exclusive customer segments.”

Speaking at the occasion, Khawaja Asif added that “The distribution of investment product will form an integral part of our ever growing consumer product suite and will provide our Premier customers a complete wealth management solution.”

The teams of Barclays Bank PLC, Pakistan and JSIL stressed that the agreement represents only a beginning of the growing relationship between the two organizations. In the near future both companies will work towards the introduction of more customized products, thereby bringing the benefits of more mutual fund products to customers.

JSIL currently is one of the leading private sector asset management companies in Pakistan, and offers an extensive suite of more than 16 products for its investors. JSIL is a part of the JS Group, one of the largest and most high profile business and financial services groups in Pakistan with wide-ranging business interests in diverse areas including financial services, banking, brokerage and advisory, media, oil and gas, information technology and transportation.

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services, with an extensive international presence in Europe, the USA, Africa and Asia.

With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs over 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for over 49 million customers and clients worldwide.

EFU Life recently signed a “Bancassurance Distribution Agreement” with Faysal Bank. According to this statement, Faysal Bank will offer EFU Life Bancassurance products to its existing and potential customers through its widespread distribution channels. Offering insurance investment products is in line with the Bank’s commitment of continuous improvement and product innovation.

The agreement was signed by the respective CEOs of the two companies. Naved A. Khan, President & CEO of Faysal Bank said, “With the inclusion of bancassurance products we aim to make Faysal Bank a one-stop financial service provider which offers a range of solutions to cater to a diverse array of customer needs. We aim to write a success story in bancassurance with EFU Life as our partner.” Faysal Bank Limited has operated branches in Pakistan since 1987 with a present network of 129 branches, 2 sub-branches and one sales and service centre. The strength and stability of the bank is evident through the Credit Rating assigned by JCR-VIS of “AA” (Doule A) for long to medium and “A-1+” (A One Plus) for the short term.

EFU Life is the largest private sector life insurance company in Pakistan and was established in 1992. EFU enjoys a market share of more than 50 percent of the private sector life premium income with a Credit Rating assigned by JCR-VIS of “AA-” (Double A Minus), stable outlook.

Making his comments at the ceremony, Taher G. Sachik CEO and MD of EFU Life said, “EFU Life is at the forefront of Bancassurance in Pakistan. We look forward to a productive and long lasting alliance with our partner and are confident of their strong focus on customer centric products and services. We plan to generate greater customer awareness and increase the penetration level of Bancassurance products in Pakistan through our collaboration with Faysal Bank.”

JS Global Capital Limited (JSGCL) achievements have been recognised by the international community as it has bagged the coveted prize of the best brokerage house in Pakistan award from Asiamoney for two consecutive years (2008 and 2009). Moreover, Management Association of Pakistan (MAP) has also declared JS Global as the best equity brokerage house in 2009.

Despite slowdown in the economic activity in 2008, JSGCL remained upbeat sticking to their superior risk management strategy and brokerage which were reflected on their annual results. JSGCL posted earnings of Rs206mn (EPS Rs4.12) while many of its competitors dwindled due to the economic slowdown. The new financial year has already given a head start to JSGCL as it has posted earnings of Rs165mn in its 1QFY10 results compared to profits of just Rs68mn in the corresponding period last year.

JSGCL is an associate of Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Ltd. (JSCL) which is one of the most progressive and diversified financial services group in Pakistan. JSGCL covers four core areas of operation including investment banking, equity sales, fixed income advisory and research. As one of the best brokerage houses in Pakistan JSGCL holds a long term AA and short term A1+ credit ratings from Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (FITCH IBCA affiliate). Since its inception JSGCL has grown many folds and today is recognized at one of the largest brokerage firms in Pakistan with more than 5000 clients (100 plus institutions) covering an equity base of US$48mn. Apart from managing the local businesses, JSGCL is also the primary broker for international broker dealers such as Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, UBS, Credit Suisse, Deutsche and Citi Bank. JSGCL currently holds a foreign fund size of 20% of the total foreign funds in Pakistan. Moreover, JSGCL has a strong presence in the derivative markets with a share of more than 25% and 32% in money market and forex trading, respectively.

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), in a meeting held on October 23, 2009 at Karachi, approved interim dividends for JS IF and JS AIF for the first quarter of FY 2009/10, ended September 30, 2009.

A pay out of Rs. 2.75 per unit of par value of Rs. 100/- (2.75%) was approved for JS IF while interim payout of Rs. 2.25 per unit of par value of Rs. 100/- (2.25%) was approved for the Unit Holders of JS AIF.

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 ex-net asset value at the close of business on October 16, 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 October 16, 2009.

“We are proud of the fact that the income funds being managed by JSIL are amongst the best performing income funds of the industry”, said Najam Ali, CEO of JSIL. “We are extremely pleased by these results and hope to continue the exceptional performance throughout the current financial year.”

JS IF is the one of oldest Income Funds in Pakistan, being established in 2002, and has shown exceptional performance in the 7 years of existence.

Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has maintained the long-term and short-term entity ratings of JS Global Capital Limited at ‘AA’ (double A) and ‘A1+’ (A one plus) respectively. According to a press release issued on Monday, the ratings denote a very low expectation of credit risk emanating from very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. The ratings reflect JSGC’s robust financial profile characterized by its sound capitalization, adequate liquidity and strong risk management systems.

JS Bank has signed a landmark distribution agreement with JS Investments Limited (JSIL), the leading asset management company of the country.

Under the agreement, the market leading mutual funds of JSIL will be available at select JS Bank branches at high traffic locations across Pakistan.

The distribution agreement was signed by Ather Ahmed – Chief Operating Officer (COO), JSIL and Majid Hamid – Group Head Retail Banking, JS Bank. Other senior members of the management teams of both organizations were also present at the occasion.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Najam Ali – CEO, JSIL said, “We are delighted at the signing of this agreement as this partnership between JSIL and JS Bank has the potential for great synergies in the future. JS Bank is currently one of the fastest growing banks in the country and partnering with them provides us better access to our broad customer base across the country, along with opening new avenues to reach a wide range of customer segments”.

Majid Hamid – Group Head Retail Banking, JS Bank said, “JS Bank has been pursuing an extremely aggressive expansion plan which includes incremental growth in our branch network, ADC deployment and above all the broadening of our product suite. The goal is to provide our customers with more services in more locations across the country and this strategy has held us in good stead. Our alliance with JSIL is critical to us as it gives us a great avenue to further enrich our existing customer relationships and the opportunity to engage new customers by providing them the very best of asset management products available from the leading company in the market today.”

The teams of both JS Bank and JSIL stressed that the agreement represents only a beginning of the growing partnership between the two organizations. In the near future, the two entities will work towards the introduction of more customized products and will increase availability of JSIL funds at all branch locations of JS Bank across Pakistan, thereby bringing the benefits of their products and services to more customers particularly in smaller cities and towns of the country.

Both JS Bank and JSIL are part of the JS Group, one of the largest business and financial services groups in Pakistan with wide-randing business interests in diverse areas including financial services, banking, brokerage and advisories, media, oil and gas, information technology, and transportation.

Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (M&JS Foundation) in collaboration with Public Private Partnership Unit, Planning & Development Department, Government of Sindh has opened a Vocational Centre at the Fakhr-e-Imdad Foundation School Mirwah Gorchani, District Mirpurkhas.

This vocational institute at the Fakhr-e-Imdad Foundation School, Mirwah Gorchani District Mirpurkhas aims to achieve the objective of capacity building of village girls/women in sewing, embroidery and knitting skills in their own residential locations. A class of 30 female students has been started and more students are expected to enroll for evening classes after the month of Ramadan.

The economies all over the world are changing into knowledge based economies. The changing face of technology requires an individual to be specialized in a particular skill. Only a person who is an expert in a particular field can get good employment opportunities. Vocational education training institutes impart specialized and practical knowledge to a person and help them become independent at a particular task.

This newly opened vocational centre employs a team of trainers and staff, among who are Miss Afshan Bano – Training Coordinator/ Consultant, Miss Tasneem Khan – Trainer and Miss Gulshan – Trainer.

M&JS Foundation has the history of supporting skill development initiatives in urban and rural areas as part of its constant initiative to improve the level of education in Pakistan.