Of Pakistan’s 600-plus listed companies, Arif Habib is the only non-bank financial company to break the top 25. In 2022, it reminded us why that is.
The institution, run by chief executive Shahid Ali Habib, has long been Pakistan’s largest securities brokerage, investment banking and research firm. This makes AHL – with a diversified client base that includes Pakistan's government, corporations, financial institutions, multilateral organizations and individuals – a tough outfit to beat.
Along with financial services, AHL dominates across all important business sectors, including energy, construction materials, industrial metals, fertilizers and dairy farming. And, of course, it is Pakistan’s busiest investment banking house, topping the league tables in brokerage services, equity and economic research, money markets, equity and debt capital markets, project financing, mergers and acquisitions, consultancy services and corporate restructuring.
What matters, though, is how AHL channelled those strengths over the last year. With inflation topping 30%, manufacturing output plunging, interest rates at all-time highs, and the rupee plummeting, 2022 in Pakistan was not for the faint of heart. The economic chaos forced a government regime change and the dissolution of many provincial assemblies.
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