The continuing strong economic conditions of the UAE and other GCC economies has led to an upsurge in consumer spending in recent years. With retail sales in the region expected to reach US$284.5 billion by 2018, the need to meet the growing demand for consumer goods has led to a boom in planned shopping mall … Continue Reading
A number of GCC governments, including those in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have set ambitious clean energy and energy efficiency targets. As the fastest growing region in the world, the GCC’s population is expected to grow more than 53 million by 2020. Substantial amounts of investments will be required to finance the clean energy … Continue Reading
The Sukuk Opportunity Total Sukuk issuances for 2013 stood at approximately US$120 billion and the Sukuk market is likely to sustain double-digit growth in the coming two to three years with assets in Islamic finance expected to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2015. The growth of the Sukuk market has allowed investors to diversify their portfolio … Continue Reading
Following widespread debate and commentary on the first draft of the Egyptian sukuk legislation (the sukuk legislation), the Egyptian cabinet has approved a second draft of the sukuk legislation to be presented to the Egyptian Shura Council for parliamentary discussion. The legislation is a significant change in legal direction for Egypt that has only embraced … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Several new laws have taken effect in recent months in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from arbitration to the establishment of a centre for registration of lien and the long awaited mortgage law. As part of the restructuring underway in the Saudi Arabian judiciary system, long standing regulations for the resolution of banking disputes in the … Continue Reading
Islamic Finance: Law and Practice, co-edited by Latham partner Craig Nethercott, was recently published by Oxford University Press (click here to view). Nethercott, global co-head of Latham’s Islamic finance practice and one of the editors of Al-Mirsal, also is a contributor to the volume, along with co-editor David Eisenberg of White & Case. The book … Continue Reading
In a session on “Current Trends in Islamic Finance” at the In-House Counsel Congress today in Kuala Lumpur, Latham partners Bryant Edwards and Craig Nethercott discussed the opportunities for Shari’ah compliant debt issuance in the United States capital markets. “US capital markets remain the deepest capital markets and investors in these markets are increasingly interested … Continue Reading
Sipchem’s recent Mudaraba Sukuk is notable as an economic success and also for its structure. The financing represented a great addition to the tool kit available to corporate treasurers in Saudi Arabia. A Sukuk financing typically requires that: An issuer has unencumbered tangible assets available; The assets are Shari’ah compliant (i.e not related to alcohol, … Continue Reading
Investing in the Palestinian territories has traditionally been laced with political and economic risk. But the successful listing of the second player in the Palestinian mobile telecommunications sector has invited a closer look at the potential for investment. 2011 saw the successful completion of the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the Palestinian territories in … Continue Reading
