JS Group

JS Group

Type	Financial Services Holding Group
Industry	Financial services
Founded	1971
Headquarters	7F, The Forum, Khayaban-e-Jami, Karachi, Pakistan
Area served	Pakistan
Services	Finance and Insurance Asset Management Consumer Banking Corporate Banking Investment Banking Investment Management Private Equity
Employees	23,000
Website	www.js.com

JS Group is a financial services group in Pakistan. JS Group controls and operates financial services companies in Pakistan. Financial services of JS Group include asset management, commercial banking, company research, insurance, investment banking, Islamic banking, micro finance, and stock brokerage. JS Group also has investments throughout Pakistan's economy. These investments cover industrial sector, technology & media sectors, commercial real estate, energy & natural resources. JS Group has it’s headquarter in Karachi.

History of JS group

JS Group's early foundations began in 1971 by Jahangir Siddiqui.

Business Sectors

JS Group has five vertical businesses. These are JS Industrial, JS Infocom, JS Property, JS Resources and JS Transportation.

JS Financial

JS provide financial services in sectors of commercial banking, asset management, private equity, investment banking, securities brokerage, company research, insurance, Islamic banking & finance, and micro finance. Companies operated by JS financial are:

• Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Ltd. (JS&Co)
• JS Global Capital Limited (JSGCL)
• JS Bank Limited (JSBL)
• JS Investments Limited
• EFU Insurance Group
• Bank Islami

Jahangir Siddiqui & Co. Ltd. (JS&Co)

JS&Co is one of the largest investment firms in Pakistan and heads a diversified financial services group. It was Pakistan’s first securities firm with a Wall Street pedigree through its joint venture with the bankrupt Bear Stearns

JS Bank Limited

JS Bank is a commercial bank and also has a Primary Dealer license for government securities from the State Bank of Pakistan. It was formed after the merger and amalgamation of Jahangir Siddiqui Investment Bank Limited and commercial banking operations of American Express Bank Ltd Pakistan. JS Bank Limited commenced operations in Pakistan as a fully scheduled bank on December 30, 2006. JS Bank has 132 branches present in more than 67 cities nationwide.

Bank Islami

Dubai Bank was one of the founding shareholders of Bank Islami which invested 18.75% in the total Capital. The State Bank of Pakistan issued a No Objection Certificate on August 19, 2004 and Bank Islami Pakistan Limited, the second full-fledge Islamic Commercial Bank in Pakistan, was incorporated on October 18, 2004 in Pakistan.

Holdings

JS Group has holdings in EFU Life.

JS Industrial

• Al Abbas Industries – Steel, Chemicals and Fiber Board
• Al Abbas Sugar Mills – Sugar and Ethanol
• Pakistan International Container Terminals (PICT)

JS infocom

Eye Television Network Limited is a Pakistan-based company. The Company is engaged in operating satellite television channel. During the fiscal year ended 30 June 2009, Eye Television Network Limited launched Style 360, Masala TV and Hum TV.

• Eye Television
• Masala TV
• Style 36

Hum TV

ETN received its first up-linking license for HUM TV to operate as an International Satellite Television Channel in October 2004 from Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) for a period of 15 years. Being the first ever Public Limited Company in electronic media in Pakistan, ETNL went live with its first channel HUM TV in January 2005.

Masala TV

Masala TV was launched in September 2006. Masala became a household name that was recognized all across Pakistan and helped set the dinner tables in almost all homes.

Style 360

During the fiscal year ended 30 June 2009, ETNL launched Style 360. Style 360 is a lifestyle and entertainment channel that aims to fill the gap of quality programming in Pakistan.

JS Property

JS Property is a holding company of JS Group. It invests in real estate projects.

JS Transportation

JS Transportation has, to date, focussed on the aviation business within Pakistan. JS Aviation was another division of the group set up in 2005. The company offered charter services in Pakistan under the name JS Air, using a small fleet of propeller driven Beech aircraft with a maximum capacity for 20 odd passengers. In November 2010 a JS Air Beech 1900 flying from Karachi to Dadu crashed shortly after takeoff killing all 21 people onboard, 17 of the passengers, including one from Italy, were employees of the multinational energy company Eni and were heading to Bhit Gas field. Due to safety concerns after the accident, the company started losing customers to rivals, which eventually made operations unfeasible and led them to request withdrawal of their Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in March 2011, JS Air was finally shut down on 5 January 2012.

Controversies

Land grabbing case

In December 2010 prominent members of the JS group including the CEO Jahangir Siddiqui were placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) for alleged land grabbing in Karachi. The names of Jahangir Siddiqui’s wife, Mehwish Siddiqui, his son, Ali Jahangir Siddiqui, and his brother Zahid Siddiqui had also been placed on the ECL, which alleged that Jahangir Siddiqui had illegally occupied a plot of 1,000 square yards in Karachi in connivance with the owner of an estate agency, using forged documents. Additional Executive District Officer (AEDO) Revenue Mustafa Jamal Qazi maintained that it had become a practice that land that was awarded to the government was being grabbed by "land mafia...for its vested interests." Pakistan's Anti-Corruption Establishment arrested several in conjunction with the case in December.

Siddiqui sued a group of individuals including the Anti-Corruption Establishment director and a member of EDO Revenue for defamation, indicating that the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee had evaluated land in 2001 and found the ownership of the property legal. In response the defamation claim, the Sindh High Court issued notices to the defendants, and they were summoned to appear before the court on January 5, 2011. The court issued a restraining order preventing the defendants from "media attack" pending settlement of the matter. The Pakistan Observer characterized these events as a "character assassination campaign" against Siddiqui.

Unauthorized Investment Transactions

In 2007, a Sri Lankan newspaper published allegations against JS Group Company (JSGCL) for unauthorized investment transactions. The newspaper claimed that it has achieved some inside information about the case. SECP has found that the Jahangir Siddiqui Group (JS Group) is guilty of illegal stock market manipulation and insider trading. The allegations said that JSGCL failed to comply with the requirement of the Notification by non-providing the required information to its shareholders in the general meetings of the Company.

Rejoinder to the Allegations by Sunday Leader

The Sunday Leader reported of "Massive Fraud and Insider Trading Uncovered in Pakistan" which was denied by JSGCL as a Letter to the Editor.

International Operations

The group has offices throughout the major cities in Pakistan and manages its international operations from its London and Dubai offices. The group comprises businesses with over 18,000 employees and profit after tax of $510 million in 2007.

Partnerships

JS Group has grown over the last four decades partly by forging successful partnerships with international, world-class organizations and brands to develop new businesses in Pakistan. Examples of JS Group partnerships in Pakistan include:

• Allianz – Insurance
• Dubai Bank – Islamic Banking
• Global Investment House – Securities Brokerage
• International Finance Corporation – Asset Management
• Ulker – Food

See also

• Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation

External links

• Official website
• JS Group: the empire built by selling the family car
• Linked-In
• Network Micro Finance Bank
• Pakistan Credit Rating Authority
• State Bank Of Pakistan
• JS Bank Website
• JS Investments Limited
• Bank Islami
• Pakistan Banks’ Association
• Style 360
• Masala TV
• The Nation | Accessed on 30 June 2011
• Express Tribune
• The Sunday Leader
• Mahvash and Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation