Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance and AS&H take home five awards at the IFLR Middle East Awards 2021

Clifford Chance and Clifford Chance in co-operation with Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm (AS&H) are proud to have won five awards at the IFLR Middle East Awards 2021 across the following categories. The awards showcase the most legally innovative cross-border transactions from across the GCC over the past 12 months, as well as the teams and individuals behind the deals.

According to IFLR, the "theme of resilience really stood out in this year’s research. The size and complexity of some of the deals that teams were able to get across the line against a backdrop of global uncertainty and national lockdowns was remarkable. The fact that law firms, in-house teams and individuals were able to rise to these challenges is testament to the calibre of talent in the region."

• Team of the Year - Debt & Equity-Linked: Clifford Chance's debt and equity-linked team acted on five shortlisted deals, showing particular skill in ESG-linked bonds. Highlights include advising on Etihad Airways’ ESG issuance, DP World’s hybrid perpetual sukuk, Sharjah’s Covid response sukuk and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Saudi Electricity’s mudaraba-based perpetual subordinated instrument. The Firm's work for National Commercial Bank on its inaugural US dollar AT1 issuance, which was also the first from Saudi Arabia, also stood out, with its combination of Basel III capital rules, English contract law, Saudi Arabian law and Islamic finance principles.
• Law Firm of the Year - Saudi Arabia: Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm (AS&H) in cooperation with Clifford Chance edged was involved in nearly all of the market’s headline deals during the IFLR research period. It acted for National Commercial Bank on its ground-breaking merger with Samba and also its US dollar Additional Tier 1 sukuk issuance, which was a first in the Kingdom. Among its headline deals was also the EIG-led consortium – Aramco oil pipelines joint venture. This was the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and there were extensive structuring challenges surrounding the strict regulations in the sector.
• Domestic deal of the year - NCB Samba Merger: National Commercial Bank’s merger with Samba was one of the year’s standout deals, both in Saudi Arabia and in the region at large. The resulting entity, Saudi National Bank, commenced trading in April and is now Saudi Arabia’s biggest lender. This was very much a merger of equals and there was a pressing need to structure the deal in a way that would limit disruption to clients. The size of both banks demanded a host of regulatory approvals and threw up extensive international antitrust issues. There were also challenges arising from common shareholding in both banks. The scale of the merger was unprecedented and closely scrutinised by the regulatory bodies.
• Project Finance Deal of the Year - Al Kharsaah Solar IPP: Funding for Qatar’s first utility-scale renewables independent power project closed in August 2020. It was procured with the intention of ensuring completion on time to enable the country to host the first carbon-neutral FIFA World Cup in 2022. Al Kharsaah was the first renewables transaction in the Middle East to be directly backed by an export credit agency on a soft mini-perm basis, and is Japan Bank for International Cooperation’s first ever renewables transaction.
• Rising Star Lawyers - Alekhya Prakash: Alekhya is a senior associate in the Firm's capital markets practice. She was singled out by a number of interviewees during the research process as a standout member of the team. Her work for Etihad Airways on its transformative ESG issuance is notable, and this rising star accolade also recognises her role as lead associate in structuring DP World’s hybrid sukuk. This was the first international corporate hybrid sukuk and took place against the backdrop of a broader privatisation strategy for the company

Mohammed Al-Shukairy, Regional Managing Partner for Clifford Chance in the Middle East, adds: ''We we delighted to be able to attend this in person and to see clients and peers. Our lawyers' unwavering dedication to clients, versatility and tenacity at this time is very much at the heart of this recognition and our ability to continue to do what we do."