NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and JS Group, Pakistan's premier financial group, today announced the launch of the Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index. The index measures the performance of companies in the Pakistani stock market that pass screens for compliance with Islamic principles.
The Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index is designed to serve as an underlying index for investment products such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investable products. This is the first time that a dedicated Islamic Index for Pakistan has been launched by a major global index provider.
"Since the late 1990s, Dow Jones Indexes has been committed to bringing Islamic indexes to countries where investors seek Shari'ah compliant investment opportunities. The launch of the Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index shows the continuity of our commitment to our Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes and shows our increasing interest in expanding our Islamic index series to Muslim countries with established stock exchanges," said Michael A. Petronella, President, Dow Jones Indexes/Ventures.
This launch provides investors with the opportunity of gaining exposure to an investable and Shari'ah compliant index for an emerging market economy that has seen phenomenal growth in recent years. The index follows the superior methodology of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes in its calculation methodology.
"Pakistan, at this point in time, is perhaps one of the most attractive emerging markets across the globe. The Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index will provide an exciting opportunity for Shari'ah compliant investors globally to benefit from the phenomenal growth that the Pakistani markets have been experiencing for the last two years," said Munaf Ibrahim, CEO, JS & Co Ltd.
The components of the index are weighted by free-float market capitalization, subject to a 10% cap on the weight of any individual security. The index will be reviewed quarterly in March, June, September and December. Historical index values are available daily back to June 30, 2004. The base value of the index is set at 10,000 as of that date.
Excluded from the Islamic Index series are stocks of companies that operate in alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, financial services, defense/weapons, and entertainment. Also excluded are companies that fail any of three financial ratios: total debt divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization that is greater than or equal to 33%; cash plus interest-bearing securities divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization that is greater than or equal to 33%; and accounts receivables divided by total assets that is greater than or equal to 33%.
Further information about the Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index is available at www.djindexes.com.
Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to PR-Indexes@dowjones.com or contact Dow Jones Indexes/STOXX press office:
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About Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes is part of Dow Jones & Company, which publishes the world's most vital business and financial news and information. Dow Jones Indexes is a premier global provider of investable indexes, including the Dow Jones Averages and the Dow Jones Global, Regional, Country and Sector Titans Indexes and is co-owner of the PanEuropean Dow Jones STOXX Indexes. Together with Wilshire Associates, Dow Jones Indexes markets and licenses the Dow Jones Wilshire index family, which includes the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 and its size, style, and sector indexes. Dow Jones Indexes also offers a number of specialty indexes including hedge fund, commodity and credit derivative indexes.
In addition to Dow Jones Indexes, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (dowjones.com) publishes The Wall Street Journal and its international and online editions, Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch and the Ottaway group of community newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva and with Hearst of SmartMoney. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio stations in the U.S.
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About JS Group
Built over four decades, JS Group is one of Pakistan's largest and most progressive financial services groups and a diversified investor in Pakistan.
The group has grown from its roots in Pakistan's financial services industry. JS Financial operates market-leading companies in asset management, investment banking, securities brokerage, commercial banking, insurance and trade finance. JS Group also includes five vertical investment businesses: JS Industrial, JS Infocom, JS Property, JS Resources and JS Transportation.
The group has offices throughout the major cities in Pakistan and manages its international operations from its London office. The group comprises businesses with over 10,000 employees and revenues of over US$700 million. With innovation at its core the group has had successful joint ventures with AMVESCAP, Allianz, Bear Stearns, Dubai Bank and the International Finance Corporation amongst others.