Stephenson Harwood Middle East LLP | View firm profile
International law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP recently advised on a deal which has won three awards at the Islamic Finance News (IFN) “Deals of the Year 2024” Awards.
The firm advised Korean Export Credit Agency Export–Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), and the French headquartered multinational bank BNP Paribas, as lease arranger and the French lease lenders, on a private placement Sukuk (backed by commodity Murabaha receivables) for the Norfa LNG SAS.
This transaction represented the first Shari’ah compliant French lease Sukuk issuance and represented the first cross-border private placement Sukuk issued by Norfra, a liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier based in France and controlled by Norway’s Knutsen Group.
The transaction was awarded “Cross Border”, “Structured Finance”, and “Europe” IFN Deal of the Year 2024 Awards.
The transaction was revered for its innovative structuring with the Sukuk issuance embedding commodity Murabahah (Tawarruq) trades to secure commitments. The transaction was also highlighted for its ability to satisfy all interregional – Norway, France, and Kuwait –regulatory, legal and tax issues as part of the structuring requirements of the transaction.
The IFN Awards, which took place in Dubai on 17 February 2025, honoured the outstanding achievements of those who operate in the field of Islamic finance transactions across the Middle East, Europe and Africa region, through recognising the industry’s most groundbreaking transactions over the previous 12 months.
For further information on this award-winning matter, click here.