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AMJ acted as sole Omani Counsel to all the parties on the Oman government’s recent US$500mn sukuk issuance. The sovereign sukuk issuance, Oman’s first US dollar-denominated sukuk issuance, was privately placed by Oman Sovereign Sukuk S.A.O.C, a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Oman and wholly owned by the Government of Oman.

The certificates were priced with a profit rate of 3.5% per annum, payable semi-annually. As in the case of Oman’s debut sovereign sukuk, the certificates are based on an al-Ijarah structure. The tenor is 6 years with maturity date of July 14, 2022.

Standard Chartered Bank acted as lead manager and placement agent for the issuance and Deutsche Bank as the certificate-holders’ agent and principal paying agent.

The purpose of this sophomore issuance is to finance ongoing development projects as well as to raise Oman’s profile in international debt markets. The issuance met with strong demand from investors despite a Baa1 rating by Moody’s compared to its A1 rating for the previous sovereign issuance.

Commenting on the deal, AMJ managing partner, Mansoor Malik, said, “It is a testament to investor confidence in Oman’s stable outlook and the government’s risk profile that, despite the rating downgrade, this international issuance achieved the same pricing as the previous sovereign issuance. We are pleased to have played our part in another landmark transaction in Oman’s Islamic finance space and to assist efforts to maintain forward momentum in the economy during challenging times.”

Mansoor Malik led AMJ’s team which included corporate and capital markets partner, Ardeshir Patel, and senior Islamic Finance associate Asad Qayyum. The same team acted as Oman Counsel to the issue manager and joint lead managers on Oman’s debut sovereign transaction in 2015.

Allen and Overy acted as International Counsel for Standard Chartered Bank and Clifford Chance as International Counsel for Oman Sovereign Sukuk S.A.O.C and the Government.