Global Senior and Managing Partner
Ahsan Zahir Rizvi is a leading international corporate lawyer with extensive experience of contract negotiations, strategic planning, corporate and financial restructuring, privatisations, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, Islamic modes of financing and project finance.
Ahsan has drafted various statutory enactments and regulatory frameworks for Pakistan, including the natural gas regulatory frameworks, the telecommunication regulatory and the regulatory framework for the country’s securities and corporate sectors.
Ahsan Zahir Rizvi was a director of the Karachi Stock Exchange, Chairman of the Committee on Cyber Laws Legislation and IPR of the Ministry of Science & Technology of Pakistan and a Member of the National Bioethics Commission.
Considered a leader in the construction, energy, infrastructure and finance sectors, he has acted in most of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s significant independent power projects on behalf of the Government, foreign sponsors and lenders.
Over the past 30 years, he has drafted, negotiated and documented numerous project development and financing documentation in connection with infrastructure and power projects.
Education
- University of London, LLM, 1981
- Inns of Court, Bar Vocational Course, 1980
- London School of Economics, LLB (Hons), 1979
Experience: Corporate finance and project finance
Transactions exceeding USD 15b in aggregate value, M&A transactions of more than USD 5b and privatization transactions including Pakistan Telecommunication Company, Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, Pakistan State Oil and Pakistan Petroleum.
Experience: Energy and infrastructure
Karachi Airport Jinnah Terminal Project, Lahore-Islamabad Motorway Project, 500,000 Bot Telephone Lines Project, Refinery Projects, LNG Terminal Projects, Deep-Sea Container Terminal Projects, Mineral Development Projects, Power Projects of More Than 10,000mw, Cross-Border Gas Pipeline Projects, Cross-Border Transmission Line Project, Karachi Circular Railway Project, Karachi Elevated Expressway Project and Oil and gas Joint Venture Projects.
Experience: Mergers and acquisitions
- Makro-Habib in the demerger and merger Metro AG
- MetLife in divestiture of its Pakistan subsidiary
- Magnitgorsk Iron and Steel Works, in the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills Limited.
- Pfizer Corporation, in the re-structuring and merger of its subsidiaries in Pakistan.
- Clariant in the divestiture of part of its assets/business in Pakistan
- Occidental Petroleum in the sale of its assets to BP
Experience: Privatisation
- Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited
- Karachi Electric Supply Corporation
- Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation
- Pakistan State Oil
- Pakistan Petroleum Limited
Languages
- English
- Urdu
Memberships
- Sindh Bar Council
- Sindh High Court Bar Association
- Enrolled as an Advocate High Court
- Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
Practices
- Commercial
- Corporate
- Dispute resolution
- Finance
- Projects
Recognition and awards
- Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) highest National Award conferred on a Lawyer (2004).
- Ranked amongst the ‘Top-Tier Band 1 Lawyers’ by Chambers Global Lawyers of the World (2001 to-date).
- Ranked as a ‘Senior Statesperson’ and ‘Top Lawyer’ by Chambers Asia Pacific (2007 to-date).
- ‘Best Corporate Lawyer’ award by AsiaLaw (2006 to-date).
- Former Director of the Karachi Stock Exchange.
- Chairman of the Select Committee on Cyber Laws (Ministry of Information Technology, Government of Pakistan).
- Selected to the International ‘Who’s Who of Professionals’ (2007 to-date).
- Member of the National Bioethics Commission of Pakistan.
