IslamicFinance.de

International law firm Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) has been called on to advise HSBC and Tokyo-headquartered Mizuho Bank, on an Islamic financing facility worth USD 1 billion. The cross-border financing, which had to be compliant with Shariah law, is the first of its kind to align to the new requirements set by the United Arab Emirates Central Bank. The finance facility’s creation necessitated a deep understanding of the new rules surrounding commodity murabaha financing structures, which called on NRF’s Dubai-based banking team, representing the initial arrangers, book-runners and coordinators.

Japan continues foraying into the global Islamic finance sector in order to benefit from previously untapped opportunities. The Japanese Mizuho Bank through its Malaysian subsidiary became the next bank to enter an Islamic finance deal by signing a murabaha credit facility agreement. The deal is valued at $300mn and was signed by Mizuho Bank and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). The two-year financing term will be used to fund projects undertaken by ICD in its member countries and is the first cross-border bilateral Islamic facility for Mizuho Bank. The agreement follows a similar deal between the ICD and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ on a $100mn murabaha facility back in 2014. Japan’s capital market regulator Financial Services Agency supports Japanese banks to conduct Islamic finance business by allowing their foreign subsidiaries to take Islamic deposits. Currently, the sector is waiting for amended banking regulations to enable banks to provide Islamic banking products on the domestic market for the first time.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) secured a 13-month US$300 million Islamic Murabaha financing facility (the "Facility") from Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC , First Gulf Bank PJSC , Mizuho Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and Mizuho Bank Nederland N.V. in early June 2015. Dubai Islamic Bank acted as the sole Coordinator of the Facility, in addition to being the Mandated Lead Arranger along with First Gulf Bank, Mizuho Bank Malaysia and Mizuho Bank Nederland. The Facility, the largest to-date for ICD, is part of ICD 's US$1.2 billion global resource mobilization program for 1436H (2015). The proceeds of the Facility was deployed for use of ICD 's ordinary operations.