Islamic Finance
Our clients come to us because of our
long-standing expertise and knowledge of the principles and values
of Islamic finance.
The team has built up an enviable reputation
in a wide range of Islamic finance products, as recognized by
industry bodies. The international offices including those in
London, the US and the Middle East work together to provide
seamless service to our clients. We are one of the only law
firms with offices in all GCC countries, as well as Amman, Cairo
and an associate firm in Beirut. We are also seeing an
increase in Islamic finance activity in the CIS and Africa.
The strength and depth of the Islamic Finance
practice are reflected in its extensive blue-chip client list of
international and domestic financial institutions, investment
funds, fund managers, brokers, financial intermediaries and
high-net-worth individuals.
Members of our Islamic Finance team know many
of the leading Islamic finance scholars and we have access to
leading bodies such as the Accounting and Auditing Organization for
Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). We are experienced in
working with Shari'ah supervisory boards in developing new
structures and products. This knowledge is pivotal in ensuring
smooth and successful transactions for our clients and their
customers.
Our practitioners come from a wide range of
legal and business disciplines and can advise on the full range of
Shari'ah-compliant activities, including sukuks, transactional
banking, project finance, mergers and acquisitions, structured
finance, regulatory reform, private equity, investment funds and
takaful.
Areas of Focus:
- Shari'ah-compliant funds
- Structured investment products (based on
Shari'ah-compliant derivatives; structures involving bilateral
wa'ad, etc)
- Islamic project finance
- Trade finance (murabaha and salam)
- Real estate finance (including istisn'a,
forward leases (ijara) and structures based on tawarruq)
- Capital markets (including Sukuk)
- Shipping finance
- Aviation finance
- Tax and regulatory issues relating to Islamic
finance products, transactions and institutions
- Takaful