Clifford Chance

We have successfully combined our long-standing expertise in capital markets with our in depth knowledge of Islamic finance to develop a market leading Islamic capital markets practice.

We have structured and worked on a wide range of Shari'a compliant capital markets products including sukuk (in which investors subscribe for certificates representing an undivided interest in an underlying asset), Shari'a compliant securitisations and other Shari'a compliant structured products. We have a breadth of experience allowing us to draw upon our deep understanding of Islamic finance principles, our international capital markets expertise as well as our local law knowledge to develop and tailor an Islamic finance solution that best suits your business needs.

We worked on a number of the largest and most high-profile sukuk issuances and sukuk programmes in the world and are widely recognised for our innovative and commercially focused approach to structuring sukuk.

Our recent experience includes:

Sovereign sukuk

• Advising Etihad Airways on the establishment of a US$1 billion sukuk programme and debut issuance thereunder. 
• Advising the JLMs on the issue by IDB Trust Services Limited of US$1.5 billion 1.775% trust certificates due 2021 guaranteed by the IDB under the issuer's and the guarantor's US$25 billion trust certificate issuance programme. 
• Advising DP World on the issuance of US$1.2 billion trust certificates due 2023 under its US$3 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme. 
• Advising the joint lead managers on the update/upsize of the US$10 billion sukuk programme by the Government of Indonesia and a US$2 billion issuance thereunder.
• Advising the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) on its public issuance of SAR3 billion and SAR900million sukuk expiring in 2022.
• Advising the joint lead managers on a US$1.5 billion sukuk issuance by the Government of Malaysia. This is the first sukuk in the Islamic finance market to use transportation rights as part of the pool of underlying assets which also include ijara assets and a commodity murabaha. In addition, the sukuk is also believed to be the first time that the new IMF-recommended ICMA sovereign collective action clauses have been used for a sovereign sukuk issuance (and modified to take into account the unique elements of a sukuk). Citibank acted as the delegate. 

Corporate sukuk

• Advising HSBC Bank Middle East on the establishment of a US$2 billion trust certificate issuance programme and subsequent issue of US$500 million certificates in relation to EQUATE Petrochemical Company.
• Advising joint lead managers on the establishment of Saudi Telecom Company (STC) SAR5 billion sukuk issuance programme, uniquely using a combination of mudaraba and murabaha, whereby the murabaha is designed to only cover the principal payable under the sukuk and the mudaraba covers the profit. There was a subsequent SAR2 billion drawdown under the programme. 
• Advising Bank of America Merrill Lynch, CIMB and HSBC as joint lead managers on Axiata Group Berhad's RMB1 billion sukuk issuance, the largest RMB-denominated sukuk and the second sukuk to date to be issued in the dim sum bond market. 

Financial Institutions sukuk

• Advising J.P. Morgan on the establishment of a SAR2 billion tier 1 capital sukuk issuance programme and subsequent issue of SAR500 million tier 1 capital sukuk with Saudi Investment Bank.
• Advising the banks on the establishment of a US$3 billion sukuk programme with Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP).
• Advising the joint lead managers on the issuance by Kuveyt Turk Katalim Bankasi AS of US$350 million Fixed Rate Resettable Tier 2 Certificates.
• Advising Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Berhad (MEXIM) on the establishment of a US$1 billion multicurrency sukuk programme.