January 16, 2003	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 12, 1423

KARACHI, Jan 15: JCR-VIS credit rating company has assigned a corporate governance rating of CGR-8 to Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company (PKIC), says a press release adding that this is the first such rating in Pakistan.

These ratings are based on a scale ranging from CGR-1 to CGR- 10. The assigned rating denotes “a high level of corporate governance.”

JCR-VIS had launched corporate governance rating in June 2002 and PKIC took the initiative of becoming the first entity whose corporate governance has been rated.

“The rating assigned to PKIC is a positive reflection of the conscious effort on the part of the board of directors and the executive management towards developing a corporate culture at PKIC based on the three corner stones of good governance i.e. transparency, accountability and fair-play.”

“The level of financial transparency is well above the minimum regulatory benchmarks in this regard, complemented by very strong management information and reporting system.”

“During the course of the assignment, JCR-VIS expressed some concern over the results of its evaluation of self-regulation aspect (of PKIC), particularly in the context of the delegation of authority and career planning. The company has reacted promptly to our observations and has informed us that it is taking necessary steps to address the shortcomings in this regard.”