KARACHI, Aug 30: Dow Jones-JS Pakistan Islamic Index was launched on Wednesday. At a press conference A. Rushdi Siddiqui, Global Director, Dow Jones Islamic Market Index Group stated that the index measures the performance of companies in Pakistan stock market that pass screens for compliance with Islamic principles.

He hoped that the index would raise confidence levels of global investors looking for Shariah-compliant opportunities in Pakistan stock market. He stated that a six-member team of Shariah Supervisory Board had worked on the index, which included Justice (Retd) Muhammad Taqi Usmani.

Ali Reza Siddiqui, executive director at JS Abamco, observed that the Dow Jones-JS index was designed to serve as an underlying index for investment products such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and other investable products.

He said that it was the first time that a dedicated Islamic index for Pakistan had been launched by a major global index provider. The components of the index, Ali said, were weighted by free-float market capitalisation, subject to a 10pc cap on the weight of any individual security.

He said that the index would be reviewed quarterly. Ali said that initially 30 companies, which would capture 56pc of the KSE market capitalisation, would be represented in the index, but the basic requirement would be that of their Shariah compliance.