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Name: |
Amjad Ali Khan Managing partner Afridi & Angell 53 |
Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are?
What does your role involve? I also represent the firm’s foreign and local clients including private equity firms, banks and leading multinationals in banking, financial, and corporate transactions in the UAE. and abroad. My practice areas include acquisitions and divestitures, private equity, banking and financial services, project finance, Islamic banking, treasury products and hotel management.
What do you consider your greatest achievement to date? Our hands-on experience in structuring, documenting and negotiating landmark deals in the region is the basis of our success. Afridi & Angell has also advised on various Shariah compliant financing in the current year including the Fitness First financing.
What are the strengths of your company? Each partner has practiced in the UAE and MESA regions on average for over 15 years and are leaders in their fields, across a broad range of practice areas including corporate and commercial, private equity, banking and financial services, capital markets, privatization, infrastructure and project finance, maritime and transport, litigation and arbitration and real estate. Our legal professionals are also drawn from around the world. We have associates from the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Canada, Lebanon and Sudan.
What factors have contributed to the success of your company? What are the challenges/obstacles the company faces today?
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in, say, the next five years? In the past six or seven years, the Islamic finance industry has grown at a much faster pace compared to the conventional banking sector. However I foresee that that rate will inevitably slow down in the next few years. While Islamic banking will still grow at an encouraging rate, it will not be as rapid as it has been in the previous years. More interestingly, based on the changes that I have recently seen in the industry, I expect Islamic finance to evolve from “form” towards “substance”. Traditionally, there has always been a slight conflict between the Middle Eastern and the Malaysian schools of thought. I believe that now there is a general movement towards “substance”, which is a positive effort in the right direction. One of the reasons why I believe this shift will happen in the Islamic finance industry is the greater proliferation of Shariah scholars. In the last 10 years the industry has been choked by the lack of scholars and I think we will see a proliferation in the coming years.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance. |