Concentration

Banking and finance, Islamic finance

Summary

Christopher Aylward has extensive experience in the Middle East involving financing transactions in the telecommunications, power, petrochemicals and industrial sectors. He has been involved in many of the region’s most significant project financing transactions. He has worked on numerous syndicated loan transactions, Islamic financing transactions and debt restructurings. He has experience in both conventional and Islamic trade financings, regularly representing international and regional lenders.

He also has significant securities and banking regulatory experience across the GCC, particularly in Saudi Arabia where he has represented most of the world’s largest investment banks on their activities.

Christopher has been named as one of the “World’s Leading Islamic Finance Lawyers” in a number of categories by Islamic Finance News, has been rated in various legal directories for his work in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, and regularly speaks at conferences and seminars.

Representative Engagements

Islamic Finance

• Advising a Bahraini Islamic investment bank on the structuring, negotiation and documentation of an Islamically-compliant real estate development financing in Makkah, involving two offshore funds as investors.
• Advising the mandated lead arranger in relation to a US$70 million commodity murabaha for an international investment bank.
• Advising the lead arrangers in relation to a €28.5 million bridge financing for an African cement plant.
• Advising the lender with respect to a US$20 million murabaha financing with credit and political risk insurance for an African obligor.
• Advising the lenders with respect to Saudi and English law in connection with structuring, documenting and negotiating the US$2.35 billion Islamic financing (and subsequently the US$1.95 billion Islamic bridge financing) (murabaha) to a consortium for the acquisition of licences and roll-out of the second mobile phone network in Saudi Arabia.
• Advising the sponsors as to Saudi law on a polypropylene plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, involving the conversion of a conventional facility to a Shari’ah-compliant murabaha.
• Advising the lenders as to Saudi law and structuring in connection with the Shari’ah-compliant financing (ijara) of a US$500 million shopping complex in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
• Advising a consortium on the US$5 billion acquisition of licences and roll-out of the third mobile phone network in Saudi Arabia including Shari’ah-compliant financing (murabaha).
• Advising the lenders on the SAR2.975 billion Islamic (murabaha and ijara) and conventional financing of the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
• Advising the lenders in connection with structuring, documenting and negotiating the SAR1.5 billion financing of the construction of the Jamarat Bridge in Makkah, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic financing of the SAR400 million extension.
• Advising the lenders with respect to Saudi law in connection with the US$1 billion reverse murabaha for a Saudi corporation.
• Member of the team advising in connection with a large scale real estate development transaction in Makkah, Saudi Arabia involving real estate, construction and Islamic offering (sukuk) and Islamic-compliant structures (istisna and murabaha).
• Advising on Islamic-compliant structured securities products for various international investment banks.

Syndicated Finance

• Advising the lenders with respect to Saudi law in relation to a US$50 million receivables backed credit facility for a UAE-based retailer, backed by security and guarantees from Saudi obligers.
• Advising the lenders with respect to Saudi law in relation to a US$52 million receivables backed credit facility for a Saudi retailer.
• Advising a Saudi parent company guarantor on the Saudi law aspects of the €5.6 billion financing and acquisition of a stake in a regional telecom operator.
• Advising the lenders to a Saudi retail conglomerate with respect to structuring, documenting and negotiating the finance documentation for the provision of a series of credit facilities to finance the construction and operation of hypermarkets across Saudi Arabia.
• Advising the lenders to a Hong Kong-based telecom operator with respect to a series of syndicated credit facilities to finance the roll-out of a CDMA mobile network in Thailand.

Petrochemicals

• Advising the sponsors as to Saudi law on an acetyls plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
• Advising the sponsors as to Saudi law on a polypropylene plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
• Member of the team advising an export credit agency as to Saudi law issues with respect to a US$9 billion petrochemical complex.
• Team member advising on relevant Saudi law issues associated with structuring and financing, in connection with the preparation and development of a bankable commercial structure for an integrated petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia.
• Member of the team advising the lenders in structuring, documenting and negotiating documents and issuing legal opinions for the refinancing and expansion of petrochemical plants in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
• Advising the arranger in connection with structuring, documenting and negotiating the US$118 million refinancing of a caprolactam plant and the Baht3 billion and US$16 million refinancing of a polymers plant, both located in Thailand.

Electricity and Water

• Member of the team advising a Saudi Government agency in connection with the Shuaiba IWPP in Saudi Arabia.
• Member of the team advising the successful bidder on four “inside the fence” IPPs in Saudi Arabia and advising on the Saudi law aspects of the refinancing of the IPPs.
• Team member acting for the acquirer in conducting due diligence, review of finance documentation, advice on Thai law issues in connection with acquisition of stakes in three IPPs located in Thailand.

Infrastructure and other projects

• Advising the sponsors in relation to the development of a steel pipe manufacturing plant.
• Advising the lenders as to Saudi law on a phosphate mine, plant and associated port facilities located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
• Coordinating the efforts of multi-practice area teams on the establishment of foreign banking and securities business entities in Saudi Arabia by a number of the world’s largest commercial and investment banks.
• Advising a range of international financial institutions on derivatives and related transactions and on the offering of securities and complex financial products in Saudi Arabia.
• Acting for the borrower conducting due diligence, drafting, negotiating finance and security documents, coordinating provision of multiple jurisdiction legal services in connection with the US$ 400 million project financing of the iPSTAR-1 broadband communication satellite. (Asia Pacific Deal of the Year)
• Advising the lead creditor and EPC contractor in negotiating and documenting the debt restructuring, reorganisation and subsequent bankruptcy of a Thai steel mill, advising the secured creditors on restructuring the debts of an automobile assembly plant and advising the borrowers on the restructuring and refinancing of a paper mill business and a steel mill.

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• “Saudi banking and securities regimes,” Complinet Legal Updates: 2009-2011
• Speaker, “Defaults in Islamic finance,” Client seminar, Manama, Bahrain, May 2010
• Moderator/Panelist, Islamic Finance News Roadshow, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2009 and June 2010
• Panelist, Islamic Finance Issuers and Investors Summit, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 2009
• Speaker, “Financing terms post GFC,” Client seminar, Dubai, UAE, April 2009
• “The sleeping giant awakens: Developments in Saudi real estate,” The Brief, 2008
• Speaker, “Doing business in Saudi Arabia,” Client seminar, London, January 2008
• “Developments in the Saudi securities regime,” Asian Counsel, March 2007
• Speaker, “Saudi securities law and developments,” Citigroup MENA general counsel’s meeting, Dubai, UAE, 2006