IslamicFinance.de

The standoff between Dana Gas PJSC and its bondholders carries on after the company that’s trying to void $700 million of its own debt was said to believe investors may even have to pay the company.
Dana Gas says a court battle with holders of the Islamic securities, or sukuk, may see it having to return less than 10 % of the amount it borrowed. In a second scenario, it believes creditors may have to pay it as much as $150 million, and that the case may last more than 10 years. The Gas company had announced plans to restructure the debt in May, this week retracted an offer to replace the bonds and is pursuing a resolution in court. It said in June the debt was no longer Sharia-compliant. Investors questioned the validity of the claim since neither sukuk regulations nor UAE laws governing the matter have changed since they were issued in 2013.

Saudi Aramco has plans that would raise 11.25 billion riyals (3 billion US-Dollar) from its debut Islamic bond. That would boost the size of the sale because of investor demand. King & Spalding Partner Rizwan Kanji weighs in on "Bloomberg Markets: Middle East."

Gulf borrowers are back in the bond market, and a new pattern is emerging. GCC bond sales climbed 32% to a total $15.9 bn this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dubai’s government sold a $569 million privately-placed sukuk in March and Emirates NBD raised $499 mn from such deals. Bahrain and Oman have also opted to privately place sovereign issues. Rizwan Kanji, consultant at King & Spalding said most private-placement issuances are underwritten by the arrangers, which provides the issuer with certainty of execution and pricing.

King & Spalding announced today that Rizwan Kanji, a leading debt capital markets practitioner, is joining the firm as a partner in its Dubai office. Kanji will have a leading role in King & Spalding's debt capital markets and sukuk practice.
Kanji joins King & Spalding from Norton Rose, where he led its Middle East debt capital markets practice. He has advised on several recent landmark sukuk and conventional transactions, including the first Turkish sukuk.
King & Spalding has a team of nearly 30 lawyers in its Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh offices specializing in complex commercial, corporate and financial transactions as well as project development, construction and engineering, with particular emphasis on matters related to the energy industry.