Arif Habib has a strong track record in coming through for its clients, which was evident in the past year. When Pakistan’s businesses struggled to raise funds through the usual commercial banking channels, Arif Habib proposed other solutions.
Its advice: when investors are reluctant to take a long-term view on debt and banks stop lending, use the capital markets and short-term debt capital instruments instead.
Thanks to that strategy, Arif Habib helped firms to sell sukuk, term finance certificates and commercial paper – all of which were structured to their unique needs – worth roughly $377 million in total during the awards period.
It also found windows for ECM deals whenever possible, helping issuers to raise about $48 million from transactions.
This was impressive given Pakistan’s struggles with rising inflation, the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar, the shortage of foreign exchange reserves and the political upheaval.
Arif Habib, led by CEO Shahid Ali Habib, showed its investment banking competence despite these difficult conditions, making it Asiamoney’s best securities house in Pakistan in 2023. It worked on the country’s first development real estate investment trust listing by Javedan Corporation.