A short update,
This has been a summer of real accomplishment. The BIGGEST SUCCESS is that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has approved new rules for the issuance of Islamic securities, one each for listed securities and private placements. For much of this year I have been working closely with the professionals at the SECP to design regulations that facilitate the market among both investors and corporates while moving toward structures that protect creditors and getting the right balance of disclosure. Several efficiencies introduced into the process, I think, will result in more paper in the market and greater creativity in structuring. The iterations among corporates, banks, asset managers and civil servants have resulted in a good outcome that will serve the market for years to come. I could go on and on about this but that isn’t what the blurb is about (or is it? OK, maybe it is.).
So, to a bit of tourism. A combination of marketing to the big sukuk issuers and teaching a seminar on fixed income markets (also a form of marketing) brought me to Lahore recently. We tacked on a Sunday to the trip to see more of this fascinating city. Some of the most beautiful parts of Lahore date back to the colonial era but the place I could go back to over and over is the old walled city. Parts of the fort and palace date to the 1500s and 1600s and the era of the Mughal emperors. Someone told me that the palace was built by the grandson of Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal. In the photograph below I am standing well out in front of the Roshnai gate; at one time, there were nearly twenty gates to the original city. Of course, Lahore has grown well beyond those earlier boundaries as it now has a population put conservatively at eleven million. As with all Pakistani cities there is a hustle and bustle, often more after sunset, and everywhere you look there are crowds of people. Friendliest people on earth so it is good fun to wander around and talk to everyone.
This has been a summer of real accomplishment. The BIGGEST SUCCESS is that the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has approved new rules for the issuance of Islamic securities, one each for listed securities and private placements. For much of this year I have been working closely with the professionals at the SECP to design regulations that facilitate the market among both investors and corporates while moving toward structures that protect creditors and getting the right balance of disclosure. Several efficiencies introduced into the process, I think, will result in more paper in the market and greater creativity in structuring. The iterations among corporates, banks, asset managers and civil servants have resulted in a good outcome that will serve the market for years to come. I could go on and on about this but that isn’t what the blurb is about (or is it? OK, maybe it is.).
So, to a bit of tourism. A combination of marketing to the big sukuk issuers and teaching a seminar on fixed income markets (also a form of marketing) brought me to Lahore recently. We tacked on a Sunday to the trip to see more of this fascinating city. Some of the most beautiful parts of Lahore date back to the colonial era but the place I could go back to over and over is the old walled city. Parts of the fort and palace date to the 1500s and 1600s and the era of the Mughal emperors. Someone told me that the palace was built by the grandson of Shah Jehan, who built the Taj Mahal. In the photograph below I am standing well out in front of the Roshnai gate; at one time, there were nearly twenty gates to the original city. Of course, Lahore has grown well beyond those earlier boundaries as it now has a population put conservatively at eleven million. As with all Pakistani cities there is a hustle and bustle, often more after sunset, and everywhere you look there are crowds of people. Friendliest people on earth so it is good fun to wander around and talk to everyone.
Within the fort the most interesting parts are often the little architectural details. Some of the arches have intricate mosaics on the inner surfaces, many walls have metal and stone inlays of flowers and the red sandstone has geometric carvings in the structural features. You can get a sense of the beauty in this photo at the entrance to the Badshahi Masjid (Royal Mosque) and the mosaic that fills the inside of the arches. Contrasting the high art and great craftmanship is the concertina wire at the right; sadly, there are almost constant reminders of the security situation everywhere you go in Pakistan.
Speaking of security, I have long wanted to go to the Wagah border gate. Located not far from Lahore, this is the main land border between Pakistan and India. Each evening they briefly open the gate and then there is a famous and elaborate ceremony to close the gate. Both sides have built viewing stands and absolutely blast patriotic music (kind of an aural arms race) to drown out the other side. Impeccably dressed soldiers, that look to have been chosen for height, march, issue orders, present flags, glare across the border and then slam the gates shut (on both sides). It’s all very dramatic and exciting, and in fact there are military police scanning the crowd and firmly maintaining order. This is both a great show and a reminder of rumbling tensions in this part of the world. Here are Amir Khan, Shouket Awan and me standing in front of the border shortly before the ceremony. As you can see from the condition of our shirts, the heat hasn’t lifted from Pakistan quite yet.
Then over Eid I did a quick trip to Dubai for some shopping; the second most popular reason to go there (after money laundering). The malls have all the expected brands and a few very high-end names as well. My interest was in the warehouse district and its many art galleries and restaurants. This is the non-descript area between downtown and the Palm, and has become somewhat funky. Maybe I’m showing how conventional I really am because I found the art a bit too conceptual and didn’t buy anything. I never have that problem in the former Soviet Union but you’ll agree that doesn’t make me a communist. Still, the trip broke the routine and I look pretty relaxed here overlooking one of the lagoons. Pardon the obvious, but that isn’t Islamabad.
Well the coming weeks look like work, work, work so may be a little light on news, then again you may have felt that way four paragraphs back. Please fill me in on what you are doing and I hope we can find a way to get together soon, at least electronically but even better in person.
All the best,
All the best,
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