JCR-VIS Credit Rating Company Limited has reaffirmed the Insurer Financial Strength of EFU General Insurance Limited (EFUG) at “AA” (Double A). Outlook on the assigned rating is “Stable”.

EFUG is one of the largest insurance companies in the general insurance sector, recording the highest market share of business underwritten for 2008. The company is managed by a team of seasoned professionals which has remained stable over the year. While there has been a gradual reduction in the claim prone motor segment over the last three years, exceptionally large losses in the fire segment have continued to undermine result from underwriting operations.

Karachi Stock Exchange signed an agreement with JS Investments Ltd (JSIL) allowing JSIL to use the title “KSE–30 Index”, paving the way for change of name of JSIL’s “UTP-A30+ Fund” to “JS KSE-30 Index Fund”, subject to regulatory approvals. This agreement was signed in a ceremony held at the KSE premises, which was attended by Mr. Adnan Afridi, MD KSE and Mr. Najam Ali, CEO JSIL, along with senior management from both companies.

UTP-A30+ Funds (to be renamed as JS KSE-30 Index Fund), is an index tracker fund which is a passively managed, low cost, open-end scheme and was launched in May, 2006 to track the then “ABAMCO 30 Index”, a private index managed by JSIL and the first of its kind free float-adjusted market capitalization based index. In January 2008 the fund adopted KSE-30 Index as the underlying index in view of being widely recognized as a better representative, free float-adjusted market capitalization index by all stock market participants. KSE 30 index is a regulated index of KSE, the premier stock exchange of the country.

At the occasion of the signing ceremony Mr. Adnan Afridi said “We welcome the era of change in the Pakistani capital markets. KSE is looking forward to the launch of ETFs, bond trading platform and ICB Classification just to name a few which will earmark our readiness and ability to compete with International markets at every level bringing depth and breadth to our market. This is a non-exclusive arrangement and we hope more companies will take advantage and enter into similar agreements with KSE.”

Commenting on the occasion Mr. Najam Ali said “The arrangement with KSE is of great pride to JSIL and shall mutually benefit both parties. JSIL has a history of offering innovative products and taking initiatives in the Industry and this agreement is a reinforcement of the value that JSIL believes in providing to its investors.” He further commented that, “This is a step towards better coordination between KSE and the Asset Management Companies in Pakistan and it can be a stepping stone to offer more innovative products in the future.”

JS Bank has received an award for the “Best Communications Campaign” by a Conventional Bank as part of the Pakistan Banking Awards. The Awards were given by the Khaleej Times which is one of the most prominent daily newspapers in the UAE and is also one of most widely quoted news-sources in the South Asia and Middle East region.

The awards were given after a survey of the Pakistani banking industry over the last one year by a jury of independent experts. The award is a great achievement for JS Bank as it is the youngest bank in the winner’s list and has won the award in the face of intense competition with quite a number of other banks’ advertising campaigns in the running.

The award recognizes the success of the recently launched Marketing Communication Campaign of JS Bank which has established the bank’s new brand positioning “We value your success” across all mediums and has received great feedback nationwide from the banking industry, the media, the bank’s customers and the public at large.

The award was presented to the JS Bank team at a ceremony held at the JS Bank Head Office in Karachi. The award was received by Mr. Tariq Ziad Khan, Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, JS Bank from Mr. Tauqheer Muhajir, CEO Millennium Media & Pakistan Representative of Khaleej Times.

Speaking at the occasion Mr. Naveed Qazi, President & CEO, JS Bank, commented, “We’re are extremely delighted at receiving this award from one of the most respected and credible news publications of the region. The award is a great recognition of the effort, planning and creative thought that has gone into the JS Bank corporate campaign. We have received a lot of positive feedback from the market on the campaign and are in a continuous process of expansion that has seen us establish our branch and ADC network across all four provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. So be it in terms of network, products, services, advertising or technology, there is a lot of exciting developments that will be coming from JS Bank in the near future as we work towards becoming more instrumental to our customers’ success. This is the core message of our marketing campaign and getting an award from the Khaleej Times on that is hugely encouraging for the team.”

Also present at the occasion was Mr. Majid Hamid, Group – Head Retail Banking, JS Bank, who added, “The Khaleej Times is one of the most widely quoted news-sources on Pakistan in the region and getting this award is a solid accolade for JS Bank from someone who keeps a close watch on the developments of the Pakistan market. All other winners in the awards are leading banks in Pakistan and for JS Bank to have joined this league of elite banks so soon is a great achievement for us.”

The signing ceremony for the trust deed of JS Principal Secure Fund II (JS PSF II) between JS Investments Limited (JSIL) and Muslim Commercial Financial Services Private Limited (MCFSL) was recently held at the JSIL Head Office.

JS PSF II, which is yet another low-risk product being launched in continuation of the capital protected fund series of JSIL, is structured to benefit from the attractive valuation of Pakistan’s capital market while providing principal protection through the investment structure.

Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has upgraded the long-term and short-term entity ratings of BankIslami Pakistan Limited (BIPL) to A (Single A) and A1 (A One) respectively. These ratings denote a low expectation of credit risk emanating from a strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

The ratings reflect BIPL’s significant advancement towards establishing itself as an active player in the emerging Islamic banking industry. The bank, in a short span of time, has established an effective operating platform, supplemented by requisite technological infrastructure and risk management systems. At the same time, the bank’s expanded outreach is expected to help maintain diversification in its deposit base and finances portfolio.

However, given weakened economic fundamentals, BIPL may take a relatively long period to achieve the envisaged profitability. Meanwhile, the ratings take into account the sound financial standing of sponsoring groups.

JS & Co. Ltd. (JSCL) has received the Annual Environmental Excellence Award 2009 by the National Forum for Environment & Health (NFEH).

The decision-making panel and the Governing Body of the NFEH, were impressed by JS Group’s vision and its contributions in the field of environment and implementation of environmental friendly policies. JSCL is one of several leading Pakistani companies to receive this excellence award.

Ms Farah Qureshi – Company Secretary and Executive Vice President, JSCL, received the award from the Chief Guest, Mr Hameedullah Jan Afridi – Federal Minister for Environment, during a ceremony held recently at a local hotel which was attended by environmentalists, experts, prominent personalities belonging to the corporate & NGO sector, as well as media representatives. Mr Naeem Qureshi – President, NFEH and Dr Qaiser Waheed – Chairman, NFEH were also present at this occasion.

The Guest of Honour, Mr Askari Taqvi, Provincial Minister for Environment, pointed out recent initiatives taken by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency for effective implementation of National Environmental Quality Standards. Mr Hameedullah Jan Afridi – Federal Minister for Environment, encouraged the private sector to support government efforts in addressing environmental issues, particularly water pollution, the leading cause of child mortality in Pakistan.

This award is a testimony to JS Group’s strong commitment and contribution towards the environment as well as sustainable development.

The representatives of Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (M&JS Foundation) and Sajjad Foundation met and handed over tickets to the students who were selected from universities all over Pakistan, to attend a Summer Program at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Mr. Ali J. Siddiqui, Director, M&JS Foundation, met the students in an informal meeting, which prepared them to be the ambassadors of not only their universities, but more importantly of Pakistan and our business environment and culture.

The students will be attending a summer program at the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 13 to 24 July 2009. This program will host undergraduate students from universities in various parts of the world.

The program 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. Participants will also get to experience the culture, interact with locals, understand how public policies are formulated, and gain insights on business practices in Singapore.

M&JS Foundation and Sajjad Foundation are sponsoring the entire cost of the Pakistani students at this program.

This program is a part of M&JS Foundation and Sajjad Foundation’s continuous investments into various education initiatives in Pakistan.

The participating students are from Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Institute of Business Management (IoBM), Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), NED University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI) and University of Peshawar (UoP).

JS Investments Limited, JSIL has announced the financial results for selected Funds under its management for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009.

The Board of Directors in a meeting held on July 07, 2009, reviewed the performance of the Income Funds and Capital Protected Funds under the management of JSIL and approved the final pay outs for the Unit Holders for the fiscal year. As per the results, JS Income Fund had a payout of Rs. 4.50 per unit, which is in addition to the already distributed interim dividends of Rs. 7.55 per unit, and equals to a total payout of 11.9248% of NAV, while JS Aggressive Income Fund had a payout per unit of Rs. 2.00, which is in addition to the interim distribution already paid at Rs.4.25 per unit, which was a payout on opening NAV of 6.2357%.

In the three Capital Protected Funds (CPF’s) that JSIL currently offers, CPF had a payout per unit of Rs. 3.00 which translates into a payout as per opening NAV of 2.7982%, while CPF II had a payout per unit of Rs. 6.50 i.e. 6.3626% of its opening NAV and CPF IV announced a payout per unit of Re. 0.50, a payout per opening NAV of 0.4978 %.

Principal Secure Fund I (PSF-I) which is the latest fund launched by JSIL in the capital protected funds series, had a payout per unit of Rs. 5.80 per unit on the face value of Rs. 100/-.

Unit Holders of our Income Funds that have opted for cash payout will receive cash payment while Unit Holders who have opted for bonus units will be allocated units on the net asset value as of close of business on June 30, 2009. The above entitlement will be paid to the Unit Holders whose names appear in the register of Unit Holders as of close of business on June 30, 2009.

Commenting on these financial results, Najam Ali, CEO of JSIL, said “Income Funds under the management of JSIL, especially JS Income Fund, have outperformed its industry peers. Despite severe volatile local environment, liquidity pressures and adverse political and security conditions, we have given our best to create value for our investors by continuously following prudent investment and asset allocation policies. Investors in our Capital Protected Funds have been able to preserve their capital while earning decent return on their investment in an environment that saw unprecedented down turn in the equity markets. We are very proud of these achievements and will continue to work diligently in the best interest of our unit holders.”

The Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation (M&JS Foundation) has donated a large quantity relief packages to the IDPs in Islamabad, Mardan and Peshawar.

These relief items were transported free of cost from Karachi to Islamabad in collaboration with Airblue.

The M&JS Foundation has also made cash donations to the Kashf Relief Fund which has been established to carry out relief work in IDPs high density areas. This fund is a collaborative effort by with the Kashf Foundation, Kashf Microfinance Bank, M&JS Foundation and Mandviwalla & Zafar Advocates. Through this effort, in the first phase approximately 275 relief packages were distributed amongst IDPs in Mardan and Buneer. These IDPs have been camping at various Govt. schools in the above-mentioned areas.

Three categories of packages have been distributed; first package category contains flour, ghee, lentils, rice, milk, etc; second includes all kitchen crockery items, and the third package category consists of all usable daily items such as water-coolers, washing powder, towels, etc.

The M&JS Foundation in collaboration with Hazara Phosphate has also adopted 2 camps in Haripur, that are housing 100 IDP families.

JS & Co. Ltd and JS Global Capital Ltd. employees have also donated 1-day salaries to the M&JS Foundation, to be used for IDP relief efforts.