Al Tamimi & Company Continues as Legal Counsel for NBK and Kuwait Finance House

The Kuwait office of Al Tamimi & Company continued its success in project finance by acting as legal counsel for National Bank of Kuwait S.A.K.P. (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House K.S.C.P. (KFH) in a syndicated financing in an amount of KD 249 Million for Limak İnşaat with respect to a contract with the Ministry of Public Works to facilitate the construction, completion, furnishing and maintenance of the Kuwait International Airport (KIA) New Passenger Terminal II.    

The new Passenger Terminal Two, spread over a sprawling 708,000-sq-m area, will be able to handle 25 million passengers per year and accommodate all aircraft types through 51 gates and stands. The new facility will also be able to serve 21 A380s. and designed to handle 25 million passengers a year.

Pursuant to the terms of the finance agreements, the financing is to be consummated via conventional and Islamic financing, with NBK acting as a Mandated Lead Arranger, Intercreditor Agent, Security Agent and Account Bank and KFH acting as a Mandated Lead arranger and Commodity Murabaha Investment Agent. Consisting of both credit and cash facilities, NBK and KFH will jointly finance the construction works related to the New Passenger Terminal II to the tune of KD 125.6 million each.      

The signing took place at the Chairman’s Club in KIPCO Tower in Kuwait City and was attended by some of the most senior executives of the banks and Limak İnşaat, including NBK Chairman Nasser Musaed Al-Sayer, KFH Chairman Hamad Al-Marzouk and Limak Holding Chairman Nihat Özdemir.  Also in attendance at the signing ceremony H.E. Ms. Ayşe Hilal Sayan Koytak the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Kuwait.

The Al Tamimi team was led by Co-Head of Office and Partner, Alex Saleh, and Partner Omar Handoush. The Kuwait team of Al Tamimi has been involved in many of the country’s large infrastructure deals over the last few years such as the Az-zour IWPP project, KNPC’s Clean Fuel Project, most of the new government hospital developments among many other projects.

Alex Saleh, commenting on the syndicated loan deal, said: “It is always a challenge to close on a project finance transaction of this size and magnitude in such a short period of time, given that the Kuwait legal system poses its own unique aspects that have to be addressed.  Not withstanding, given the positive spirits of all the parties involved, we were able to overcome the challenges and close in a relatively short time period, reflecting the goodwill of everyone.”

Omar Handoush, commenting on Al Tamimi & Company’s relationship with NBK and KFH, stated: “We have been fortunate to work with and represent both NBK and KFH on a number of high profiled transactions throughout the years.  Al Tamimi & Company appreciates the confidence and trust that NBK and KFH management once again had in our firm to handle such a large complex transaction.”

Al Tamimi & Company’s Kuwait office is co-headed by Partners Alex Saleh and Philip Kotsis and operates through its joint venture with Kuwaiti lawyer Yaqoub Yousef Al Munayae.  Al Tamimi & Company was established in 1989 and is the largest law firm in the Middle East. The firm has 16 offices in 9 countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain.