Contacts:
Rahail Ali, Dubai
Rustum Shah, Dubai
Austen Hall, London

Islamic finance is, above all else, ethically driven. It is also one of the world’s fastest growing financial sectors. By 2015, Islamic finance is projected to be worth US$2.8tn according to the Islamic Development Bank. Burgeoning consumer demand has been met by increased supply as the number of Islamic banks and financial institutions with Islamic finance divisions continues to rise.

Robust demand has led to new challenges for the Islamic finance industry, however, including legal and regulatory considerations. Hogan Lovells Islamic Finance practice has met those challenges through our deep appreciation of the standards that a Sharia-compliant financing or investment must achieve to attain its ethical status. Indeed, many eminent Sharia scholars commonly recommend us to financial institutions that approach them for advice. Many of our template documents are now market standard. We are also consistently rated as market leaders by respected legal directories, including Chambers Global.

Over the past three years, we have advised on more than 200 Islamic finance transactions with an aggregate deal value in excess of US$40bn.  Our team members are at the forefront of developments in the Islamic finance industry. We help set standards for the sector. We have also advised on numerous first-of-their-kind transactions, such as the first convertible Sukuk, the first equity-linked Sukuk, the first Sharia-compliant securitization, the first international Sukuk al-mudaraba and Sukuk al-musharaka, the first Sukuk buy-back, and the first Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) guaranteed Islamic project financing.

Hogan Lovells has one of the largest transactional practices of any leading law firm. Our Islamic finance team is based in the world’s major financial hubs providing clients with transactional support in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jeddah, London, New York, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore, and Tokyo.

• Abu Dhabi Investment Council
• Al Baraka
• Barclays
• Barwa
• BNP Paribas
• Crédit Agricole
• Citi
• Dubai Islamic Bank
• Emirates Bank International
• EmiratesNBD
• First Leasing
• HSBC Amanah
• International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group)
• ICD (Islamic Development Bank Group)
• InvestAD
• Kuwait Energy Company
• Kuwait Finance House
• Liquidity House
• Mashreqbank al Islami
• Morgan Stanley
• Qatari Diar
• QInvest
• Samba
• Shamil Bank
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Tamweel
• WestLB

• Islamic Finance News Awards, 2007, 2008, and 2009:
   − Best Sukuk Deal of the Year
   − Best Trade Finance Deal of the Year
   − Best Corporate Finance Deal of the Year
   − Best Sovereign Deal of the Year
   − Best Real Estate Deal of the Year
   − Best Mudarabah Deal of the Year
   − Bahrain Deal of the Year
   − Kuwait Deal of the Year
   − UAE Deal of the Year
   − Qatar Deal of the Year
   − Egypt Deal of the Year
   − Pakistan Deal of the Year
   − Turkey Deal of the Year
   − Best country deal: Djibouti Port project
   − Petronas Global Sukuk
   − World Bank Group, IFC Sukuk
• 'Top 10 Groundbreakers' for the Petronas Global Sukuk deal, Islamic Finance Asia, 2009
• 'Deal of the Year' for the Petronas Global Sukuk deal, Asia-Counsel, 2009
• 'Debt and Equity-linked Deal of the Year' for the Nakheel securitization, IFLR Middle East Awards, 2009
• 'African Transport Deal of the Year' for the Doraleh Container Terminal project in Djibouti, Project Finance Awards, 2007