The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited
Press Release
a

Rating Action
Lahore: (06-January-2006)
    PACRA Upgrades The Long-Term Rating of ORIX Investment Bank Pakistan Limited
 

 
Analyst
Muhammad Usman
(+92-42-586 9504)
musman@pacra.com

 

 

 










 

 


 

 



Disclaimer
This press release is transmitted to you for this sole purpose of dissemination through your newspaper/magazine/agency. The press release may be used by you in full or in part without changing the meaning or context thereof but with due credit to PACRA. However, PACRA has the sole right of distribution of its press releases for consideration or otherwise through any media.

  

The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has upgraded the long-term rating of ORIX Investment Bank Pakistan Limited to ‘A+’ (single A plus), while maintaining the short-term entity rating at ‘A1’ (A One). The ratings denote a low expectation of credit risk and a strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

The ratings reflect the bank’s strong risk absorption capacity and increasing profitability emanating from diversified revenue sources. This represents the successful implementation of OIBPL’s strategy to focus on core investment banking activity rather than relying merely on financial intermediation operations. This in turn has helped the bank to develop a stable niche in the increasingly competitive financial sector.

About the bank: ORIX Investment Bank Pakistan Limited (OIBPL) was incorporated in July 1995 and commenced operations in the subsequent year. Listed on both Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchanges, OIBPL was sponsored by ORIX Corporation, Japan (OCJ) and ORIX Leasing Pakistan Limited (OLP). Subsequent to recent increase in shareholding, OCJ is the single largest shareholder (30%) of OIBPL, followed by OLP (15%). Other shareholders include local and foreign financial institutions and individuals. The bank’s business activities include short-term lending, fund placements, treasury operations, money market brokerage, equity broking and financial and advisory services.

he Board of Directors (BoD) comprises seven members including the CEO. Three directors are nominees of OCJ, two of OLP, while SaudiPak Industrial & Investment Company and Pak-Kuwait Investment Company has appointed one nominee each. The CEO - Mr. Naim Farooqui - has experience of more than 21 years in development and investment banking.
 
The primary function of PACRA is to evaluate the capacity and willingness of an entity to honor its obligations. Our ratings reflect an independent, professional and impartial assessment of the risks associated with a particular instrument or an entity.

PACRA's comprehensive offerings include instrument and entity credit ratings, insurer financial strength ratings, fund ratings, asset manager ratings and real estate gradings.

PACRA's opinion is not a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold a security, in as much as it does not comment on the security's market price or suitability for a particular investor.