Pakistan Credit Rating Agency assign final rating of ‘AA+’ to the 7th TFC issue of Rs1,000m by jahangir Siddiqui and company Limited

Lahore, November 15, 2012 (PPI-OT): The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has assigned a final rating of ‘AA+’ (Double A Plus) to the 7th TFCs issue of PKR 1,000mln by Jahangir Siddiqui and Company Limited (JSCL). This rating denotes a very low expectation of credit risk emanating from a very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

The rating reflects strong risk absorption capacity of the company attributable to a sizable portfolio of strategic investments. The portfolio comprises a combination of established and developing companies. The ensuing dividend stream from the investments further supplements JSCL’s financial profile.

JSCL oversees investments spread across diverse sectors of economy. The character of the holding company is expected to further strengthen as focus on proprietary trading has diminished. This would also reduce the volatility in JSCL’s earnings as previously observed. Comfort is drawn from low-leveraged capital structure, wherein established dividends offer good debt coverages. The rating of the instrument also recognizes the strength of the security structure.

The rating is dependent on new management’s initiatives to strengthen performance monitoring mechanism and facilitate JSCL’s full scale assimilation into an effective holding company. Any unforeseen downturn in the capital market and/or material performance weakening at investee companies adversely impacting the company’s risk absorption capacity would have negative implications for the rating.

For more information, contact:
Hammad Rashid
Analyst
The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited (PACRA)
Awami Complex, FB1, Usman Block New Garden Town,
Lahore – Pakistan
Tel: +9242 586 9504 -6
Fax: +9242 583 0425
Email: hammad.rashid@pacra.com
Web: www.pacra.com