Shearman & Sterling LLP is advising the financiers, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and a consortium of Pakistan financiers, in connection with the financing of the Foundation Wind I and II Power Projects in Pakistan. The principal sponsor of the projects is Fauji Foundation.
The entire financing is being structured on a Shariah compliant basis. The two 50 MW wind projects are the first fully Islamic financings in which ADB has been involved and featured an ADB credit guarantee in favor of IsDB, which provided a two-tranche Ijara lease financing to the borrower. Pakistan financiers are to fund under a Musharaka financing. The core finance documents were signed in May 2012.
The Shearman & Sterling team included partner Bill McCormack (Singapore-Project Development & Finance) and associates Anna Chung (Singapore-Project Development & Finance) and Vincent Seah (Singapore-Project Development & Finance). Commenting on the transaction, Bill McCormack said: “This is a ground breaking structure for a number of reasons and we are very pleased to be involved. Islamic finance is increasingly a viable source of finance for infrastructure projects and this structure may provide opportunities for conventional lenders to participate in Islamic financings.”
