Middle East - United Arab Emirates

Latham & Watkins LLP

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Latham & Watkins LLP is noted for its debt capital markets work, advising on complex bond deals and assisting a range of clients with conventional and Sukuk transactions. The firm also acts for sovereign wealth funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia on a range of capital markets transactions and financings. Practice head Nomaan Raja is a prolific debt and equity capital market practitioner who is renowned for his expertise in high-yield bonds. Basil Al-Jafari acts for government-related entities and financial institutions and has been active in a number of market firsts.

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Key clients

  • Emirates REIT (CEIC) PLC
  • Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (Etisalat Group) PJSC
  • Government of Dubai
  • Dana Gas PJSC
  • Crescent Petroleum
  • BAPCO Energies (formerly Nogaholding)
  • Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company
  • Public Investment Fund
  • Citigroup Global Markets Limited
  • Deutsche Bank AG
  • Goldman Sachs International
  • Morgan Stanley
  • JPM
  • Emirates NBD Capital
  • First Abu Dhabi Bank
  • HSBC Bank plc

Lawyers

Leading individuals

Nomaan Raja

Nomaan Raja

Latham & Watkins LLP

Nomaan Raja serves as Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins’ Dubai office and the former Local Chair of the Corporate Department. As a market-leading lawyer in the UAE, he maintains a diverse practice helping clients execute corporate transactions throughout the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Latham, Mr. Raja practiced with a leading law firm in New York. Mr. Raja advises local and international issuers, government entities, and financial institutions on the full suite of corporate transactions, with industry expertise in oil and gas, telecommunications, energy, and infrastructure. Drawing on his unique expertise, his broad international experience, and sophisticated multi-industry knowledge, he regularly advises clients on: Conventional and Islamic debt capital markets IPOs and equity offerings High-yield bonds Debt restructurings Inbound and outbound investments and corporate finance matters Having been involved in many of the most high-profile and leading debt and equity transactions from the region, including Saudi Aramco’s landmark IPO — the largest in history — Nomaan leverages his institutional knowledge of the market to carefully navigate clients through their most complex transactions.

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Basil Al-Jafari

Basil Al-Jafari

Latham & Watkins LLP

Basil Al-Jafari helps corporates, governments, and financial institutions navigate the full range of debt and equity capital markets products, including conventional bond and Sukuk issuances, debt restructurings, initial public offerings, rights issues, equity investments, and other general corporate finance matters. His practice covers the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He has acted for underwriters, issuers, and trustees on all types of debt issuances, including investment grade, crossover and high-yield offerings, MTN and Sukuk programs, and a broad range of liability management matters. Prior to re-joining the Dubai office, Mr. Al-Jafari was based in the firm’s Singapore office, where his practice focused on capital markets transactions across Asia.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Nomaan Raja

Other key lawyers

Basil Al-Jafari