Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse is a pioneer in Pakistan: it is one of the first bulge-bracket investment banks to start coverage of the south Asian country.
In a challenging year – thanks to the uncertain political environment and concerns around Pakistan’s rising budget deficit – the Swiss bank was an outlier. It closed four deals in 2019, including two loans worth a total of $405 million to the Pakistan ministry of finance, a $30 million facility to LCL Investment Holdings and a $250 million financing for Pakistan International Airlines that came with no guarantee from the government.
Credit Suisse was the sole adviser for both of the finance ministry loans, the sole bookrunner on LCL and a joint bookrunner for the airline company’s fundraising. It is still working on two other structured finance deals.
On the M&A front, the bank was selected as a sell-side adviser to the government for the privatization of two power plants – one of the largest privatizations in the country’s history – and is working on the sale of a majority stake in K-Electric.
Its standing in Pakistan was reflected in its share of wallet last year. The bank earned $2.5 million in investment banking revenues in Pakistan, giving it a chunky 52% of the market, according to Dealogic data.
Under the leadership of Rehan Anwer, co-head of investment banking and capital markets for southeast Asia and frontier markets, Credit Suisse has positioned itself as the go-to bank for both the government and corporations when it comes to investment banking mandates.
Credit Suisse plays to its core strengths and has shown its long-term commitment to the country time and again.