Mall financingThe 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 developments in the Middle East.

Dubai might be the world’s most visited retail destination thanks to The Dubai Mall, which attracted nearly

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 and energy efficient projects necessary to meet the needs of the future population.

Capital markets allow investors a low-cost alternative

Green bonds, which tie

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 and invest in credit that they would not otherwise have access to, such as Islamic institutions, which only raise funds in a Shari’ah-compliant manner. The

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 Islamic finance to a limited degree to date.

The first draft of the sukuk legislation was subject to widespread criticism, including that the sukuk legislation

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:

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 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also have been revised. These new reforms represent a welcome step toward achieving greater certainty and predictability in the

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 is the most comprehensive and practical guide to Islamic finance transactions, and includes detailed discussion and analysis of the negotiation and structure of

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 in chasing yield, including Shari’ah debt yield, from quality issuers,” commented Edwards, chair of Latham’s Middle East Practice. Nethercott, co-chair the firm’s global Islamic Finance

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, pork, gambling etc.);
  • Direct/indirect ownership of those assets vest with the seller/issuer; and
  • The estimated value of the assets is greater than or equal to

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 10 years, with the shares of Ramallah-based Wataniya Mobile admitted to trading on the Palestine Exchange (PEX) in Nablus. The IPO was a sell-out, attracting