Competitors note the Herbert Smith has grown in prominence in the UAE market especially in banking and project finance where the firm joins the fourth tier.
On the project finance side, head of the firm's Middle East finance and global head of Islamic finance, Nadim Khan, is leading a team advising the arrangers – Citigroup Global Markets, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank – of the $800 million Salik Toll Collection System financing for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai and the Department of Finance of Dubai....
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Competitors note the Herbert Smith has grown in prominence in the UAE market especially in banking and project finance where the firm joins the fourth tier.
On the project finance side, head of the firm's Middle East finance and global head of Islamic finance, Nadim Khan, is leading a team advising the arrangers – Citigroup Global Markets, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank – of the $800 million Salik Toll Collection System financing for the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai and the Department of Finance of Dubai.
Khan also acted for Dubai-based Millennium Private Equity on the first sukuk (Islamic bond) financing for a UK corporate: International Innovative Technologies (IIT), a manufacturer of industrial milling machines in North East England.
A cross border matter saw the practise head lead advise Al Salam Bank of Bahrain as arranger of an ijarah (capital leasing) facility to repay the sukuk issued by the Bahrain Financial Harbour Company in July 2010.
Abu Dhabi partner Andrew Newbery is advising on another headline project finance deal for the firm, in which he is advising the Sumitomo Corporation and KEPCO as developers of Abu Dhabi's $1.5 billion Shuweihat 3 IPP (independent power plant).
The firm's also has a well-regarded corporate practice, which was expanded in 2010 with the promotion of Paul Scarr in May. The newly made partner was part of Dubai team acting on the firm's largest M&A deal - Indian telecoms company Bharti Airtel's $10.7 billion acquisition of the African operations of Kuwaiti provider company Zain, which closed in June 2010.
A further M&A transaction, which was closed in May 2010, saw the firm advise Mitsui on the acquisition of an interest in two oil and gas blocks in Oman from Swedish company Tethys.
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