Hasnen Varawalla 2019 Speaker

Co-Head of Banking

Absa Bank

Biography

Hasnen Varawalla is the Co-Head of Banking for Absa based in Johannesburg in which capacity he oversees the corporate finance, capital markets and M&A businesses.

He has over 20 years of investment banking experience spanning Africa, Asia and Emerging Europe having advised on over 100 capital markets and advisory assignments.

Prior to joining Absa he was the Head of New Markets Investment Banking at Renaissance Capital building their pan-emerging markets investment banking business. He also has been the Co-Chairman of the USD 630 mn Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund. He began his investment banking career at Credit Suisse in London in 1995, leaving in 2006 as a Managing Director.

Notable transactions that he has advised on include:

• IPO of Vodacom Tanzania on the Dar es Salam Stock Exchange
• IPO of Master Drilling on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
• Several IPOs on the London Stock Exchange including those for: Debenhams, Kazakhmys, KCell, QinetiQ, RHM, Telecom Egypt, VTB
• Advisory transactions in Africa including: Sale of 9Mobile to Teleology, Sale of Mainstreet Bank to Skye Bank, Sale of Continental Outdoor to JC Decaux

He started his career as part of the Tata Administrative Service. He has B. Tech. from The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, PGDM from The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and an MBA from The International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland.