The Dubai office of Clifford Chance LLP, in conjunction with Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm, have advised Bank Al Jazira (the “Bank”) in relation to the issuance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of a SAR 1,000,000,000 subordinated sukuk due 2021 callable with step-up in 2016 (the “Sukuk”).

 

The Sukuk is comprised of a hybrid Mudaraba and Murabaha structure and represents the first sukuk issuance by a fully Shari’a compliant Bank in Saudi Arabia, as well as the first debt capital markets transaction of 2011 in Saudi Arabia. Due to a very high demand for the Sukuk, the Bank sought and obtained regulatory approval for an increased issuance size of SAR 1,000,000,000 from the SAR 750,000,000 originally contemplated. The Sukuk was heavily over-subscribed, with the total order book reaching a value of more than SAR 4,000,000,000.

The Al-Jadaan & Partners team was lead by partner Mohammed Al-Jadaan, supported by senior legal advisor Ose Asemota and legal advisor Dr Fahad Abuhimed in Riyadh. The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Debashis Dey, supported by senior associate Alex Roussos and associates Beene Ndulo, Xuan Jin and Lauren Djedid in Dubai. HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited, and J.P. Morgan Saudi Arabia Limited were Joint Lead Managers on the transaction and were represented by the Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh in association with Latham & Watkins in Riyadh.