Editorial: Islamic Finance in the UAE
Investment in Islamic-compliant funds has tripled over the past five years and according to the Financial Times, the Islamic finance industry is now worth an estimated US$800 billion. Although it has not completely escaped the recent global financial turmoil, experts predict that the abundance of liquidity in the region, coupled with the ever-growing appetite for financial products that comply with sharia law will mean that the list of Islamic-sanctioned financial instruments will continue to grow. With this in mind, there is a similarly great demand for legal expertise in this area and this chapter identifies 12 practitioners who are regarded by their peers as leaders in the field.
Clifford Chance LLP is an international firm with a global reputation in the field of conventional finance. The firm also has a long-standing Islamic finance practice that has seen it advise on the first ever Islamic infrastructure fund (for the Islamic Development Bank) and advising on the first Islamically leveraged deal to use the forward sale (bai salam) structure, for Deutsche Bank in the Egyptian Fertilizer Company acquisition. Clifford Chance's unrivalled performance in this chapter - we list three from the firm - is a reflection of its reputation in the area. Qudeer Latif is the head of Islamic finance for the Middle East and was recommended to researchers as a "specialist" and "the go-to guy" for such matters. Latif's practice spans the asset classes and he has worked on the US$9.8 billion Rabigh project financing in Saudi Arabia and the US$3.5 billion sukuk-al-musharaka for DP World (issued for financing the acquisition of P&O). Robin Abraham has a profile in this field and was praised by one source for "knowing his way around sharia law". Abraham's practice has a strong general and project finance aspect and he is also included in the project finance, banking and oil and gas chapters of this publication. Debashis Dey was highlighted on numerous occasions during our research for his "impressive" Islamic finance knowledge and experience. Dey also features in the capital markets chapter, where the firm has participated in some of the largest Islamic finance capital markets transactions in recent years, including the Khazanah sukuk and the Islamic Development Bank sukuk. He is also well respected for his securitisation work.
Two other names appear in both this and the capital markets chapter. Anzal Mohammed flies the flag for Allen & Overy and Ayman Khaleq draws the spotlight to Vinson & Elkins LLP. Mohammed is head of the international capital markets group in the Middle East and is well known as an "expert in Islamic debt". Past experience includes advising on the DIFC sukuk, the Tamweel Islamic residential mortgage-backed securitisation and the debut issuance of global bonds by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Khaleq is also well versed in the structuring and documentation of Islamic finance and investment products and is especially well known for his work related to sukuk offerings (Khaleq was senior lead arranger for Liquidity Management Centre on a US$200 million sukuk for Al Ahlia Gulf Holding Company, a Kuwait-based real estate development company).
Herbert Smith LLP can boast the inclusion of the chapter's most highly nominated individual, Nadim Khan. Khan has been active in the region for many years and has represented companies including QatarGas II LNG, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Telecommunications and the Bahrain Petroleum Company in Islamic finance-related matters. He was described to researchers as a "player" and a "real specialist". Rahail Ali from Lovells also comes very highly nominated and was praised for being "very active" in the field. Ali is the firm's global head of Islamic finance and has advised the Dubai Islamic Bank on a US$3.5 billion P&O sukuk, Barclays Capital on a PCFC sukuk and real estate company Nakheel on a US$2.5 billion convertible sukuk.
Simmons & Simmons is home to Muneer Khan. Khan's practice has a special focus on sharia-compliant investment funds and has advised the UK government on Islamic finance issues while sitting on HM Treasury's Islamic Finance Technical Group. Practice highlights include advising a Middle East-based Islamic bank in relation to a US$1.5 billion real estate development project in Dubai and advising on a US$5 billion alternative assets fund for Far East and Middle East-based investors. Both deals were sharia-compliant. Luma Saqqaf is head of Islamic finance at Linklaters LLP. Saqqaf boasts extensive understanding of various asset classes and has working knowledge of sukuks, derivatives and structured finance as well as global loans and project finance. She acted for DIFC Investments LLC on its US$1.25 billion sukuk issuance arranged by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank AG and for HSBC, Riyadh Bank and Saudi Fransi Bank in relation to the US$153 million sharia-compliant loan to International Methanol Company in Saudi Arabia, to name but a few representative matters.
Oliver Agha is the global head of Islamic finance and the head of finance, Middle East, for DLA Piper. Agha is a frequent writer and speaker in the area and is well respected by his peers for his "encyclopedic knowledge". Agha advised the lead arranger in connection with structuring, documenting and negotiating the first-ever sukuk approved by the Capital Market Authority in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for an aggregate issue of 3 billion riyals (about US$800 million). He has also counselled a major international insurer in structuring and documenting takaful structures for its products globally. Anthony Pallett leads the banking practice at Norton Rose LLP and has been based in Dubai since 2007. He worked previously in the firm's Bahrain and London offices and has a respected practice heavily focused on Islamic finance. Norton Rose's clients in this area include Dubai Islamic Bank, Kuwait Finance House, ABN Amro, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank.
Jawad Ali from King & Spalding LLP possesses a "very good reputation for Islamic finance" and is well versed in the development and implementation of sharia-compliant financing and investment structures. Past experience has seen Ali represent GulfCap Group in connection with the US$446 million acquisition and financing of Dalma Energy and HDG Mansur Capital Group, Al Muthanna Investment Company, and Nakheel United Real Estate Company in connection with the US$500 million structuring, acquisition and sharia-compliant financing of a multi-purpose development in Bristol, England.