Amjad Hussain has been a partner in K&L Gates’ Doha office since 2012. He is widely considered a regional lead for the firm’s Middle East Banking and Islamic Finance practice. Amjad is one of the most highly rated lawyers in Qatar, having worked in Qatar for nearly 15 years for clients in the public and private sectors and advising on a number of strategic and award winning transactions.
Amjad is a market-leading adviser to local, regional, and international banking and financial services sector clients in the Arabian Gulf region and beyond. He assists government- and private-sector clients based within and outside the Middle East on matters of English, Qatari, and Qatar Financial Centre laws. He is acclaimed by clients for his strengths in Islamic finance and asset management and offers further expertise in financial sector transactions and financial regulatory work.
Amjad regularly advises on most complex and groundbreaking transactions in the market, representing retail, commercial and investment banks, financial institutions, traditional and specialized investment funds, corporates and family offices. He has extensive experience with international legal structures and a comprehensive understanding of the market and clients with significant fiduciary responsibilities.
He has built solid relationships with senior personnel at government departments, which enable him to have the advantage on legal and regulatory developments in the region. For more than ten years at K&L Gates, he has been at the cutting edge of advising Qatari and other regional government departments on how to reform existing legal and regulatory frameworks.
Amjad is highly ranked by a number of independent legal sector directories, as a leading lawyer in Qatar, whose work in corporate and finance (particularly Islamic finance) is second to none.
In 2023, Chambers Global Guide rated Amjad as Band 1 in the Banking & Finance category in Qatar, describing him as a leading figure when it comes to Qatar-related finance matters.
Amjad won an extensive praise from the interviewees:
“He is an excellent finance lawyer” and “[he] is an exceptional lawyer who articulates his legal arguments clearly and powerfully. He is meticulous in his analysis and demonstrates an encyclopaedic knowledge of local law matters.”
Prior to joining the firm, Amjad practiced in the United Kingdom for a number of years before joining the Dubai office of an international law firm in 2002, where he worked for three years before returning to the United Kingdom for two years.
From 2007 until 2012, Amjad practiced as a partner with an international law firm in its Doha office, which he managed. He assisted that firm with entering the Saudi market and supervised that firm’s Saudi cooperation arrangement.
Amjad is a Qatar correspondent for Islamic Finance News and has contributed regularly since 2010.
Advised Dukhan Bank on its QAR22.8 billion Qatar Stock Exchange debut
Advising an Islamic lender in connection with a QAR1.25 billion facility made available to a government-linked agency
Advising a listed entity in Qatar in connection with a US$500 million club facility made available by a syndicate of banks
Advised first Islamic bank in Qatar on refinancing of a US$478 million murabaha facility for Maran Nakilat Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Nakilat (one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping fleet owners) and Greek shipping company, Maran Ventures Inc., to refinance an existing murabaha facility from 2014 for the acquisition financing of five LNG transport vessels
Advising a regional Islamic bank regarding the restructuring of a QAR700 million facility made available for the construction of a retail asset in Qatar
Advising leading Shari’ah compliant bank based in Qatar on €20 million (US$21 million) Shari’ah-compliant financing to a Qatar consortium to purchase 10.8% stake in Ennismore, an international hospitality group, the owner of The Hoxton, Hyde and Mama Shelter brands
Drafting a suite of standard documents for Small and Medium Enterprise financings on behalf of a development bank in the region
Advised an Islamic bank on a potential loan of US$300 million under a Master Murabaha Agreement to Mayhoola for Investments Ltd, a Qatari investment entity focused on local and global investments and total owner of luxury fashion brands, such as Balmain, Valentino, and Pal Zileri
Advising a leading UK financial institution in connection with an award winning Shari’ah-compliant home purchase product
Advising Masraf Al Rayan, a listed commercial Islamic bank in Qatar, on its merger with Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji), a Qatar listed bank with subsidiaries in France and the United Arab Emirates to create the largest Islamic bank in Qatar and with combined assets of more than US$47billion
Advising Barwa Bank on the acquisition of International Bank of Qatar’s Islamic window, Alyusr Islamic
Advised a large provider of mobile payment technology services in Qatar in connection with the sale of its business to a leading Islamic bank in Qatar
Advising a global financial institution on a SAR350 million Shari’ah-compliant satellite acquisition financing
Advising on the establishment of a number of funds by the confidential state entity in Qatar to help streamline its relationships with asset managers
Advising a fund manager in connection with the first Shari’ah-compliant exchange-traded fund (ETF) for the Qatar Stock Exchange and the largest single-country ETF in the world
Advising on the potential establishment and listing of the first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) focused Exchange Traded Fund in Qatar
Advising the general partner on a US$500 million Shari’ah-compliant equity fund
Advising the investment banking and asset management arm of the Saudi bank on LPA, PPM and other documents related to its proposed investment into U.S.-based credit asset manager
Advised Lendable Asset Management LLC on a Shari’ah-compliant financing to an Indonesian Peer-to-Peer lender to tech SMEs and start-ups
Advising a leading family office in connection with a QAR1.2 billion Shari’ah and conventionally syndicated facility
Advising the lead arranger on a US$4 billion sovereign-backed sukuk program
Advising on the over QAR1.2 billion restructuring of facilities for a significant family office in Qatar
Advising an Islamic bank on the insolvency of a European debtor with operations in the Middle East
Advising the developer on a US$27 billion Gulf-based island development
Advised Oryx Corniche Developments on a commodity murabaha facility made available to it by Dukhan Bank for the construction of two luxurious hotel developments in Qatar to be managed by Soho House. One of the hotels is The Ned, a high-end brand, with the only other branches being in New York and London
Advising on conventional and Islamic facilities in excess of QAR5 billion for the construction of a residential facility in Qatar
Advising a leading Saudi-based family office in connection with a SAR5 billion real estate development project
Advising a leading leisure developer on a US$1.5 billion real estate financing
Advising a regional lender in connection with an Islamic facility of over US$1 billion in respect of a development of a luxurious mixed-use scheme in Turkey
Advising a Qatar Stock Exchange-listed entity on a dual-currency US$106.7 million, eight-year syndicated murabaha facility in connection with a housing project
About the Firm
K&L Gates LLP is an international law firm, delivering legal services on an integrated and global basis, with nearly 1,800 lawyers located in 48 offices in key capital cities and world commercial and financial centres across five continents.
Our Doha office is one of the largest, best-known, and well-respected offices of any global law firm in Qatar. As other firms reduce headcount and exit Qatar, K&L Gates is growing, and we are proud to celebrate our 12th year in Doha in 2023. Lawyers working in our Doha office, which is located in Tornado Tower, have a regional outlook and work across the wider MENA region on mandates for Qatari, regional, and international clients. We represent major State of Qatar-backed companies, family conglomerates, listed companies, and financial institutions doing business both domestically and abroad, as well as international clients doing business in Qatar and across the region.
In addition to our fully bilingual offering, our clients can benefit of our global platform, as we routinely work with an international team of lawyers on projects across different jurisdictions, practice areas, and time zones. The seamless integration of our Doha practices with our other offices throughout the world ensures our clients’ legal requirements are met with the highest quality service and skill wherever they happen to be doing business.
Our on-the-ground legal team has depth in sectors that few other international or local firms offer, making us a full-service law firm in Qatar. Our sectors include:
1. Banking and Islamic Finance (where we have one of the leading locally based finance teams).
2. Corporate and Commercial (advising on some of the leading corporate and mergers and acquisitions transactions in Qatar).
3. Regulatory, Financial Regulation, and Compliance (where we have acted for local banks and international banks operating out of Qatar and by advising several government departments and agencies on drafting laws and regulations across a range of sectors).
4. Telecoms Media and Telecoms (where we have acted and continue to act for leading companies in the media and telecommunications sector both in Qatar and abroad).
5. Defence (by advising various major global defence companies on Qatari corporate and compliance matters).
6. Projects and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) (by advising on pilot/pioneer PPPs in the State of Qatar under the new PPP law).
7. Fintech (where we are a member of the fintech regulatory working group at the Qatar Financial Centre helping to shape the future of financial services in Qatar and the region).
Amjad Hussain and K&L Gates LLP in the news
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