Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance and AS&H advise on Saudi Electricity Company’s SAR 167.92 billion (approx. USD45 billion) Shari'a compliant subordinated perpetual financial equity-like instrument as part of Saudi Arabia’s wider electricity reforms

Clifford Chance and Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm (AS&H) advised Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) (the Company) on the conversion of the Company’s financial government liabilities into a SAR 167.92 billion (approx. USD45 billion) Shari'a compliant subordinated financial equity-like instrument with a redemption option as part of wider electricity sector regulatory reforms in Saudi Arabia.

The financial agreement between the Company and the Government represented by the Ministry of Finance is part of a series of other electricity sector reforms including regulatory and structural. This financial transaction is considered the world's largest Shari’a compliant transaction to ever be executed.

The financial agreement and reforms will put SEC in a better financial position to meet all its financial obligations and will create a more sustainable capital structure for the Company. SEC is the largest electricity company in the MENA region and plays a crucial role in helping meet the growing demand for electricity in Saudi Arabia.

The Clifford Chance team was led by Clifford Chance Partner and Global Head of Islamic Finance, Qudeer Latif, who comments "We are delighted to have supported SEC on this transformative financial agreement. The financial agreement is key to enable SEC to move forward with an improved financial position to be able to meet growing demand for electricity in the Kingdom."

The team was co-led by AS&H Partner and Head of Banking and Finance, Yasser Al-Hussain, and in addition comprised Ahmed Choudhry (Counsel), Abdulkhaliq Elshayyal (Senior Associate) and Abdullah Alsugair (Associate).