Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse’s willingness to take Pakistan far more seriously than many of its global peers has paid off handsomely in the past year.
Since first opening for business in south Asia’s third-largest economy in the 1990s, Credit Suisse has nurtured relations with the ministry of finance, as well as with top names in the private sector and international investors.
Credit Suisse does not have a constant on-the-ground presence in either Karachi or Islamabad. But under the leadership of Singapore-based Babur Rais, head of frontier markets, the bank works across different industries and products with active support from its corporate finance, equities, fixed income and private banking teams to produce results in Pakistan.
Rais works closely on Pakistan coverage with Singapore-based Rehan Anwer, head of investment banking and capital markets for southeast Asia, and chief executive of southeast Asia.
In 2021, Credit Suisse demonstrated the depth and breadth of those relationships, handling deals worth close to $5.3 billion in total, despite difficult market conditions. Much of Credit Suisse’s time and energy went into sovereign finance last year, and it was a key partner in the government’s recent debt transactions, for example.
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