Could you provide a brief journey of how you arrived where you are today?
I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, studied law at Cambridge University and became a partner in Milbank’s London office in 1998. My first Islamic financings involved the structuring and documenting of Istisna and Murabahah facilities for the 1,292MW Hub River power project in Pakistan in 1992. At the time, these were viewed as truly ground-breaking financings and I became very interested in the practice and principles behind Islamic finance. Since then I have advised on a significant number of Islamic financings particularly in the project and acquisition finance sectors, but also general banking and Sukuk.
What does your role involve?
I am a partner in Milbank’s global banking practice. I lead the firm’s Islamic finance business unit which involves coordinating and building Milbank’s global Islamic finance practice and expertise.
What is your greatest achievement to date?
I advised Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation on the structuring of the Islamic facilities for the Shuaibah independent power and water project in Saudi Arabia. This, like many of our Islamic financings, involved working with the Shariah supervisory board in developing a “first of a kind” structure. This is now the most commonly used Shariah compliant project finance structure in Saudi Arabia and has been used in other jurisdictions such as Bahrain.
Which of your products/services deliver the best results?
We have developed significant expertise in structuring and documenting complex Islamic financings in the project finance, acquisition finance and Sukuk markets. Most of our financings use Istisna, Murabahah, Musharakah, Sukuk, Ijarah and/or Wakalah structures and clients are increasingly considering the use of Islamic hedging techniques (with significant interest arising since ISDA published its documentation to facilitate Islamic hedging). Clients usually retain us to advise on the more complex Islamic financings, ranging in deal size from US$150 million to US$1.5 billion. We are also one of the few firms which can advise on the structuring of multiple sourced financings which sometimes involve conventional export credit and bank financings.
What are the strengths of your business?
One of our key strengths lies in the ability of our lawyers to apply their knowledge and experience of complex structured financing techniques that have evolved in the bank lending and capital markets over recent years, and related industry expertise, in innovative ways in order to adapt them to suit the needs of Islamic clients and financial institutions providing or requiring finance.
What are the factors contributing to the success of your company?
Milbank lawyers have demonstrated their ability to add value and assist international and Islamic banks and investors in the development of Shariah compliant products. Our lawyers have a deep understanding of the relevant Islamic principles and are able to combine this with extensive knowledge gained from our sophisticated conventional financing practice. Our work reflects a blend of technical excellence, professionalism and detailed industry knowledge with global perspective and creativity.
Our financing capabilities have been utilized in some of the most complicated “first-of-its-kind” Islamic financings to date. We understand the complex linkages between legal, regulatory and commercial issues which arise in the context of complex Islamic financing transactions.
We advised on ground breaking Islamic financings which were recognized as ‘Deals of the Year’, including the US$2.2 billion Shuaibah IWPP and the US$3.5 billion Marafiq Jubail IWPP, both in Saudi Arabia and the US$1.8 billion Al Dur IWPP in Bahrain.
What are the obstacles faced in running your business today?
We see few obstacles — our main challenge is keeping up with the huge growth in the Islamic finance market. It is fair to say though that the Islamic finance industry would benefit significantly from a higher degree of standardization, both in terms of structures and documentation. However, we still see a significant degree of divergence between the Shariah requirements of the more conservative Islamic institutions and those of the ‘Islamic windows’ at international banks, and the requirements of Islamic banks in East Asia.
Where do you see the Islamic finance industry in, say, the next five years or so?
We see significant growth in the Islamic finance industry over the next several years, not just in the Middle East and Malaysia, but elsewhere as many Muslims increasingly seek to invest their capital in a Shariah compliant manner. This will be facilitated by increasing awareness about the products which are available and acceptance of the leading structures and related documentation in the market.
Name one thing you would like to see change in the world of Islamic finance.
I would like to see more harmonization and coordination amongst Islamic scholars and supervisory boards so as to promote certainty and ensure that Islamic finance continues to consolidate its position as a mainstream financing technique.