February 21, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 22, 1427

KARACHI, Feb 20: BankIslami Pakistan Limited is all geared up to make its public offering of Rs400 million at par on March 6, 7 and 8. This will be the first primary issue by a bank over the last decade.

A press released issued by the bank on Monday stated that it had successfully placed Rs475 million in pre-IPO in Pakistan and the Gulf. The bank would start operations from Karachi with four branches. As per the plan, around 10 branches will start functioning in the first year of operations.

The statement said that the BankIslami Pakistan received an Islamic commercial banking license from the State Bank in March 2005, thus becoming the first bank to receive a license under the Islamic Banking Policy of 2003.   “It is the first Islamic financial institution in Pakistan that is going to focus on wealth management as the core area of business”, the bank stated.   Explaining the bank’s equity holding, the press statement noted that the BankIslami is an independent institution sponsored by Dubai Bank PSJC, Jahangir Siddiqui & Company Limited (JSCL) and the DCD Group.

Dubai Bank is 70 per cent owned by Dubai Holdings, the investment arm of the Government of Dubai. The remaining equity is held by Emmar, the largest capitalized company in the region at $40 billion. JSCL is one of the largest investment-banking firms in Pakistan, having record of sponsoring companies such as ABAMCO Limited, Jahangir Siddiqui Capital Markets and Jahangir Siddiqui Investment Bank.