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Craig R. Nethercott

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Craig Nethercott is a partner in the Finance Department and is Co-Chair of the Global Islamic Finance Practice. Mr. Nethercott has experience in project finance, banking, capital markets, and Islamic finance. Mr. Nethercott has advised on transactions in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. He co-edited and contributed to the treatise “Islamic Finance: Law and Practice” published in March 2012 by the Oxford University Press.

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PPPNew PPP Regulations

Further to the publication of the new PPP law in August 2014, the corresponding executive regulations were published in the official gazette on 29 March 2015.

The new regulations provide developers with additional information and clarification on key procurement matters such as prequalification, bid submission requirements, bid bond requirements, bid evaluation procedures, selection of and negotiation with the preferred bidder, and award of the project. Such clarifications should provide developers with greater certainty as to the…

The financial close of the 1500 MW and 105 MIGD Az Zour North independent water and power project (IWPP) in January 2014 served as the trailblazer for the start of the public-private partnership (PPP) programme in Kuwait, representing the first project under the new PPP Law. The development of the Kuwaiti PPP projects market hinges on the publication of the executive regulations to the new PPP law which was published in August 2014. The Director General of the Partnerships Technical…

Whilst project bonds have for some time been a popular source of financing for projects in the US, they have historically been slow to gain momentum in other parts of the world, including the Middle East.

A number of explanations have been advanced for this – in the Middle East, the deep pool of bank market liquidity for Middle East projects, supplemented by funding from export credit agencies and development banks, has generally been sufficient to meet financing…

This month, the UK Financial Conduct Authority formally authorised ICE Benchmark Administration Limited (IBA) to assume responsibility for the administration of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).

IBA is a subsidiary of the Intercontinental Exchange Group, a leading global network of exchanges and clearing houses that administers other benchmarks such as the French CAC40 and the Dutch AEX.

Guided by the Wheatley Review

The authorisation of IBA to administer LIBOR reflects one of the key recommendations of the Wheatley…

On 12 July 2013, the US Internal Revenue Service issued a revised timeline for the implementation of the requirements of sections 1471 to 1474 of the Internal Revenue Code, commonly referred to as FATCA.

Highlights

  • The implementation of FATCA withholding on US source income has been delayed by six months and will now commence on 1 July 2014 (rather than 1 January 2014).
  • The grandfathering period for FATCA withholding on US source income has also be extended by six

…

The global financial crisis and credit crunch prompted the Capital Markets Authority in Saudi Arabia (the “CMA”) to introduce rules to increase investor awareness of public company financial difficulties.  In May 2013, the CMA published draft guidelines and instructions setting out certain rules that apply to public companies when the losses of a public company reaches 50% or more of its share capital (the “Guidelines”). The deadline for the business community to provide comments on the…

Saudi, new weekendThe Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, announced on Sunday June 23, 2013 that the official working days in Saudi Arabia will change to Sunday to Thursday and the weekend to Friday to Saturday, with effect from June 29, 2013 (the “Royal Decree”).  The change aligns Saudi Arabia with the other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, Oman having changed its weekend earlier this year, and provides a four working day overlap with other business centres globally. …

The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) has recently published its consultation white paper for the “Proposed Competitive Procurement Process for the Renewable Energy Program.” The paper outlines the Competitive Procurement Process (the CPP) contemplated by K.A.CARE for solar, wind, geothermal and waste to energy projects in the Saudi Arabia. The publication of the white paper (which is noted to be under development) is an important step in the much anticipated development of renewable energy …

The second half of 2012 saw a number of major financial institutions censured for the alleged manipulation of submissions made to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) for the compilation of BBA LIBOR. In addition to direct enforcement action against those alleged to have participated in such manipulation, regulators have also taken significant steps to reform LIBOR itself and the method by which it is determined.  GCC financial institutions and borrowers will be concerned to ensure that these …

Following a public consultation process, Hong Kong has commenced the legislative process for the introduction of tax changes to permit the issuance of Sukuk.

The proposed legislation was published in a Legislative Council Brief on December 28, 2012, which seeks to establish a level playing field for the taxation of conventional bonds and Sukuk (referred to as “alternative bond schemes” or “ABS” in the legislation) and details tax exemptions for qualifying structures.

The legislation contemplates four qualifying structures, namely:…