Middle East - United Arab Emirates
Dentons
Dentons is well-regarded for its strong financing offering, excelling in both conventional and Islamic transactions The team acts for various regional financial institutions, leading industry corporates, government bodies and multilateral agencies, and has been notably active on ‘green’ deals, including sustainability-linked financings and bonds, as well consequential real estate and transport mandates. Alex Roussos and Stephen Knight co-lead the practice; the former is noted for his debt-financing and capital market capabilities, while the latter is recommended for his project finance expertise. Udayan Mukherjee is active on both the lenders and borrowers side on a mix of acquisition, project, and sustainability-linked financings, while Qasim Aslam continues to be an eminent practitioner regarding Islamic financing. Umera Ali is noted for his capabilities in cross-border matters.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘One of the best teams in the UAE. I have been dealing with the team for more than a decade completing tens of important transactions. The team was always proactive, responsive and had the right business acumen, providing the right structures and solutions to any deal-breaker points. It is a homogenous team with the right mix of personalities and expertise.’
‘Qasim Aslam is simply fantastic. I have been dealing with Qasim since more than a decade and he was always a safe pair of hands for me as General Counsel of a Financial Institution.
- 'Qasim is very good at communicating pragmatic and commercial advice. He is an experienced partner and a good strategic thinker for big transactional cases. He is recognised in the GC Community for being a very experienced and polished banking and finance partner with a laser-like focus on giving the best outcome to his client.’
‘They provide commitment and flexibility.’
Key clients
- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB)
- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank PJSC (ADIB)
- Aldar Properties PJSC
- American Community School – Abu Dhabi
- Banco Santander S.A
- Barclays Bank
- Commercial Bank of Dubai PJSC
- Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB)
- Deutsche Bank
- Emirates NBD Bank PJSC
- Etihad Airways PJSC
- First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
- GEMS Education
- HSBC Middle East Limited
- Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
- ING Bank
- JP Morgan Chase
- Kuwait International Bank
- Khaleeji Commercial Bank
- Majid Al Futtaim
- Mashreqbank PSC
- National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah
- National Bank of Bahrain
- Standard Chartered Bank (SCB)
Work highlights
- Advising Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank as the arrangers on a US$135 million Islamic pre- and post-delivery financing for a joint venture company incorporated by Al Seer Marine Supplies and Equipment Company PJSC and BGN INT DMCC.
- Advising ENBD and DIB on an AED2.6 billion split conventional and Islamic Murabaha financing for Dubai International Real Estate (DIRE).
- Advising on IsDB's sukuk issuance of US$1.7 billion, issued under IsDB's US$25 billion Trust Certificate Issuance Programme.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Alex Roussos, Stephen Knight