Dow Jones Indexes, one of the world’s largest index providers, and JS Group, a Pakistani financial group, have launched 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 Shariah 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.
The launch will make it easier for investors to place their money in an emerging market economy that has seen considerable growth in recent years.
The index follows the methodology of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes.
Najam Ali, Chief Executive Officer, JS Abamaco, said, “As the Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index establishes itself as the benchmark for Shariah compliant investment in Pakistan, we aim to introduce the immense Shariah compliant investment opportunities available in our emerging market to Islamic fund managers across the globe.”
JS Abamco Limited intends to launch Pakistan’s first Shariah compliant index fund under a licensing agreement to be made with Dow Jones Indexes and JS & Co. Limited.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this affect has already been signed.
“The Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index will raise the confidence levels of global investors looking for Shari’ah compliant opportunities in the Pakistan Stock Markets,” said A. Rushdi Siddiqui, global director, Dow Jones Islamic Market Index Group.
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