The heat is on in Pakistans capital. Latest in the suitors for the office recently left by Shaukat Tarin is Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.
Yes, the man who sold Rs50 billion worth of stake in government enterprises to the private sector in his two year stint as a Minster for Privatization between 2003 and 2005. That should supply enough confidence to the markets.
But the man isn just a fancy salesman. Hafeez, much like Dr. Hafiz Pasha, another candidate being considered for the job, is a reputed academic with plenty of talent under his belt.
If Hafiz has worked for United Nations, Hafeez has worked for the World Bank.
Hafiz has had vast experience in policy making - having served as the head of the Planning Commission, leading a number of ministries, including the all important portfolio of finance, while also overseeing two public/economic policy think tanks.
Having written a book on Argentinas privatization and taught at Harvard University, Hafeez seems equally competent.
Aside from having a successful tenure at the Privatization Ministry where he finalized the sale of likes of HBL, UBL and PTCL amongst many others, Hafeez has also have had the experience of handling the finances of Government of Sindh in the early Musharraf era.
And just like Hafiz Pasha has links in the countrys political elite, Hafeez has them too. The former enjoys connections in the PML-N camp, whereas the latter is closely related to Mian Muhammad Soomro, a prominent banker-turned-politician from Sindh.
One major difference, however, is that Hafiz Pasha is a development economist, whereas Hafeez Sheikhs work has primarily been based on the liberal economic model, centered around privatization and the study of public enterprises.
But even this difference boils down to a difficult decision, because while Pakistan desperately needs a development economist, it also requires the expertise to get rid of, or revamp the white elephants.
Coincidentally, both face a potential barrier to the post. For Pasha, it is his relationship with Sartaj Aziz and the PML-N lot; for Sheikh it is his Dubai-based investment fund owing to which he may not accept the offer.
It may be interesting to note that the word "silk" is common in the present pre-occupation of both Shaukat Tarin and Hafeez Sheikh. Silkbank is an entity where Tarin has his stakes, New Silk Route partners is a $1bn Dubai-based fund, which is led by Hafeez Sheikh.
It is too early to prophesize about who would eventually fill the vacancy, but looking at the present scheme of events, it appears the options are gradually closing in.
With the candidates screened up to a point of name spell (Hafeez or Hafiz) - the government may be remembered as a regime that will have handed the treasury reigns to economists from bankers.
Interestingly enough, however, it will also be remembered as the administration that struggled the most, in its search for a perfect match for the post of finance minister.