Having advised several of Malaysia’s notable Islamic finance deals, Zaid Ibrahim & Co (Zico) is eyeing Singapore and the Asean region. With the strategic alliance formed recently with Singapore’s largest legal firm Allen & Gledhill, there is little doubt that Zico will soon create waves in the region’s Islamic finance industry.
Zico’s resident partner Robert Liew tells Islamic Finance news that the burgeoning market of Islamic finance in the region was one of the considerations behind the alliance.
“It is one of the areas in which we believe our alliance can, and will, make a great impact,” said Liew, adding that having carved a reputation in the legal arena in Malaysia, it makes sense for the firm to keep an eye on outside markets.
“We at Zico have been at the forefront of Islamic financial law services, advising some of the first and largest Islamic finance deals in Malaysia and the region. We now see the Islamic finance and the region reaching the next stage of development,” said Liew.
He is confident that with the combination of Zico’s Islamic finance law capabilities and the Singapore practitioner’s expertise in finance and banking in the region, the alliance will enrich the depth of their services.
He said Zico’s key players in its Islamic finance team, Dr Nik Nozrul Thani, Megat Hizaini Hassan and Dr Aida Othman, would also help improve the scope of expertise within Allen & Gledhill, which has five partners and associates in its Islamic finance team.
“Clients will have at their disposal the combined resources of the two largest regional firms, each with acknowledged expertise in Islamic finance and finance generally. The combined depth of knowledge, resources and Islamic-law insight available towards advising and developing financial instruments will be unrivaled,” said Liew.
It is believed that the alliance is timely as Singapore may be seeing some major deals in Islamic finance after taking vigorous steps to turn the city-state into another Islamic finance hub for the region.
However, it will not be easy to secure these projects in view of keen competition from international firms such as Lovells, Norton Rose and Clifford Chance, all of which have vast experience in Islamic finance — and are already established in Singapore.
Unperturbed, Zico’s head of Islamic finance Megat Hizaini said: “The market may seem fluid right now but when it emerges, we want to be there.”
By Arfa’eza A Aziz