Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Government of Maldives on the establishment of its US$1 billion sukuk programme and debut issuance

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised the Government of the Maldives on the establishment of its Reg S/144a US$1 billion sukuk programme and debut issuance of US$200 million thereunder. The sukuk is country's first foray into the international Islamic Finance markets.

The Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners for the issuance were The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), Credit Suisse, Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC.

Clifford Chance's team was led by Global Head of Islamic Finance partner, Qudeer Latif, who comments "It has been an honour to work with the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney General's office. I am delighted that we have been able to support the Government team during this challenging time where Covid has had an impact on the tourism sector for Maldives. This transaction provides important support and liquidity from Islamic investors as the economy begins to rebound."

H.E. Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Finance comments “On behalf of the Government of Maldives, I am delighted on the successful establishment of the first Sukuk programme and debut issuance. This could not have been successful without the hard work and unwavering support not only our joint leaders and arrangers, but also with our legal counsels. Clifford Chance has been an excellent partner in this issuance. Given the challenging times during this pandemic, this has paved way as a first step to accessing the Islamic finance market and we look forward to more successful issuances.”

Qudeer was supported by a cross-office team comprising Johannes Juette (Partner, Singapore), Sarah Cheng (Associate, Hong Kong) and Shahrukh Mian (Associate, Dubai).