Profile: Konyin Ajayi

Project Finance

Biography: Project Finance

Dr Konyin Ajayi is the managing partner of Olaniwun Ajayi, a leading pan-African law firm. He has practised as legal counsel in Nigeria since 1980 and has over 25 years' experience in advising clients on local and international transactions spanning energy and natural resources, international business transactions, banking, capital markets, construction and engineering, privatisation and litigation and arbitration.

Konyin is currently involved in: advising the lenders to the US$150 million financing for the development of the Setu and Okoro oil fields in Nigeria; the issuance of a US$300 million debut Eurobond by one of the leading banks in Nigeria; and the issuance of a US$800 million bond on the international capital market, among others. He led the teams that advised the lenders in the Nigeria LNG US$4.9 Billion Base project financing, the arrangers/managers in the 10 billion naira bond issue to finance the construction of Africa's premier business resort at Tinapa, Nigeria, the syndicate of lenders to raise finance for a 40 billion naira syndicated corporate lending to Dangote Industries Ltd, and the syndicate of lenders to finance the US$150 million refurbishment and development of the Exxon Mobil satellite oil and gas fields.

Konyin holds an LLM from the Harvard Law School, USA (1982) and a PhD from University of Cambridge, England (1990). He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a member of the International Bar Association, London, the Nigeria Bar Association and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group. Konyin is also a fellow of the institute of Advanced Legal Studies and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London.