DUBAI — The Deloitte Islamic Finance Knowledge Center (IFKC) in the Middle East and the Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, has held a workshop on restructuring Sukuk the Islamic way here. The workshop titled “Restructuring Sukuk- the Islamic Way” was held on March 27 and gathered representatives from the Central Bank of United Arab Emirates, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB). The event, the first of a series of executive workshops targeting industry practitioners, investors and issuers, tackled the Sukuk market trends and the key Shariah and regulatory considerations for restructuring activities. The participants discussed actual restructuring case studies with analysis of risks associated with transactions and lessons learned. The event also provided practitioners the opportunity to hear different perspectives in discussions facilitated by leaders from Deloitte, DFSA, IDB Group, Islamic International Rating Agency, FWU Global Takaful, and Clifford Chance. “The workshop marks the importance of a three-way dialogue between regulators, practitioners and law and consulting firms, to address and discuss pressing issues in Islamic finance to ensure knowledge-sharing and keep vested practitioners informed,” said Joe El Fadl, financial services industry leader at Deloitte Middle East. “This workshop has addressed a very topical subject in the light of the rapid growth of the Sukuk market and provided participants with critical analysis of issues such as Shariah, financial, investment and legal considerations that could impact Sukuk restructuring,” said Professor Mohammad Azmi Omar, Director General of the IRTI. “We are pleased with the technical discussion that was addressed — with a case studies analysis of international and regional defaulted Sukuk — the key determinants of Sharia-compliant restructuring,” said Dr. Hatim El Tahir, Director of the Deloitte Islamic Finance Knowledge Center. “It was an excellent workshop involving issuers, investors and market practitioners focused on the challenges and opportunities for the Sukuk market, especially for corporates in the MENA region,” added Sohail Jaffer, Deputy CEO, FWU, Global Takaful Solutions. “The workshop provided once again an indispensable opportunity for industry stakeholders to discuss the challenges of enforcing contractual repayment obligations in a default scenario and the competing interests of the classes of investors whose rights are governed by the detailed provisions of trust deeds, which have typically borrowed their legal technology from the Eurobond market,” said Stuart Ure, Partner, Clifford Chance LLP. — SG
