Dubai … Latham & Watkins co-sponsored the Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Middle East conference on 13 – 14 May 2014 which was held at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. The conference was attended by over 600 senior-level executives from the region’s leading banks, corporates, government entities, credit rating agencies and institutional investors. The event comprised numerous panel discussions, case studies and presentations which covered the region’s latest developments in syndicated loans and debt capital markets.
Craig Nethercott, Co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ Global Islamic Finance Practice and a partner in the firm’s Dubai and London offices, joined senior executives from Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Economic Zones World, ING Investment Management, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Deutsche Bank on a panel to discuss the factors driving deal structures where bonds/sukuk sit alongside loan facilities, in particular in mega-deals.
Additionally, Latham partners Nomaan Raja and Harj Rai shared their perspective on restructuring and sukuk trends. Raja moderated a panel discussion focused on overcoming challenges to successfully restructure GCC credit, with Managing Directors and Heads of Financing from Moelis & Company, Dana Gas, Global Investment House and Crescent Petroleum. Rai discussed sukuk trading volumes and the diversification of buyers of sukuk, with panellists from First Gulf Bank, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Nasdaq Dubai, Thomson Reuters and Commerzbank.
Following the conference, Nethercott commented: “The Bonds, Loans and Sukuk conference has established itself as a major industry event and forum for knowledge sharing among the leading players. The capital markets are evolving and maturing in the region, which further strengthens the role of EMEA’s capital markets in the global economy.”
“This event, now in its fifth year, has evolved as the pre-eminent conference in the region. It was particularly interesting to hear participants’ views on restructuring debt obligations of regional debtors through the use of English and US courts - a welcome development for the regional market,” added Raja.
The seminar was organized and hosted by Gulf Financial Conferences. Additional co-sponsors included First Gulf Bank, RBS, Union National Bank and Standard Chartered, among others.
About Latham & Watkins
Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,100 lawyers in its offices located in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, including: Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Riyadh, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information on Latham & Watkins, please visit the website at www.lw.com.
Notes to Editor
Latham & Watkins operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide with affiliated limited liability partnerships conducting the practice in the United Kingdom, France and Italy and affiliated partnerships conducting the practice in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Latham & Watkins practices in Saudi Arabia in association with the Law Office of Salman M. Al-Sudairi.
Contacts
Craig Nethercott, Co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ Global Islamic Finance Practice, partner, Dubai/London +971.704.6352
Nomaan Raja, partner, Dubai +971.4.704.6341
Harj Rai, partner, Dubai/Riyadh +971.4.704.6319 / +966.11.207.2514