June 6, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1423

KARACHI, June 5: The first Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Wednesday, which is seen to pave way for securitization transactions in the country.

The “First Securitization Trust” has been registered as an SPV under the Securitization Rules of 1999. Its purpose is to conduct securitization of lease receivables of Pakistan Industrial Leasing Corporation Limited (PILCORP). Aqeel Karim Dhedhi Securities (Pvt) Limited and Orix Investment Bank Limited are advisers and arrangers of the transactions as well as co-trustee of the SPV, a press release issued by AKD stated.

Head of Corporate Finance, AKD Securities, Anwer A. Sheikh stated that the size of the transaction had been deliberately kept at a medium level in order to test the market. He said that the transaction would open the way for raising the mode and level of financial intermediation in Pakistan to a new level, helping to further bring down cost of funding.

Ahmed and Adnan Associates are the legal advisers for the transaction while National Discounting Services Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Bank of Pakistan, would be the trustee for the securities to be issued by the SPV.