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Asif Saeed gets biggest challenge of reviving NDFC

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: With the industrialisation process having bogged down in the absence of long-term credit in the country, the federal government has decided to give the biggest challenge in the financial sector Ñ the revival of National Development Finance Corporation Ñ to Mian Asif Saeed.

Having reputation of being a remedial banker and equipped with great analytical qualities, Asif Saeed for the last two years has been Senior Executive Vice-President & Group Executive of Corporate & Institutional Bank Group (CIBG) at Habib Bank Limited. CIBG provides services to large corporate customers out of the 13 corporate centres countrywide with a head count of 1,400 persons only.

It has lent Rs 50 billion in two years with a default ratio of 0.5 percent. And, from losses in 1997, the CIBG made a net profit of Rs 1.2 billion in 1998, Rs 2.2 billion in 1999 and now has a budget of Rs 3.5 billion for 2000.

Besides CIBG, Asif Saeed was overseeing the Global Treasury of HBL and managed structured training courses for 20,000 employees in two years.

As an MBA from Cornell University, New York, Asif Saeed started his career with Citibank and, in less than 10 years, rose from Assistant Manager to Vice-President. After managing a mix of local, multinational and public sector enterprises portfolio in Pakistan, he was sent to Egypt, in 1983, to undertake a remedial and rescue operation as $250 million portfolio was 80 percent classified.

With the Middle East market in an oil price decline phase, he was then transferred, in 1985, to Citibank in UAE to handle large government and local corporate portfolio along with supervision of corporate treasury and financial institutions. He handled several large syndications for oil and gas and aircraft refinancing, re-introduced gold trading for Citibank in collaboration with UBS, Credit-Swiss, SBC, Degussa and other international bullion banks.

Asif Saeed is expected to rescue NDFC and also oversee its possible merger with IDBP. The business community feels that without having an active DFI, new ventures are not possible in the country. Before adopting the banking career, Mian Asif Saeed topped the Central Superior Services Examination and still holds the record of obtaining highest marks. Besides MBA, he holds a Masters degree in Economics.