Norton Rose Fulbright > Riyadh, Saudi Arabia > Firm Profile

Norton Rose Fulbright
AL-NAKHLAH TOWER, 17TH FLOOR
KING FAHAD ROAD, AS SAHAFAH
PO BOX 52681 RIYADH
Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia > Banking and finance Tier 2

Norton Rose Fulbright has a stellar reputation for its adept handling of intricate cross-border financings. Team leader Robin Balmer, based in Riyadh and Dubai, specializes in asset, project, and property finance, as well as shariah-compliant transactions. In April 2023, Abdulkhaliq Elshayyal joined the Riyadh office as a partner in the banking and finance team. David Johnston, recently promoted to partner in 2022, focuses on major project finance transactions. Associate Hesa Al Saad is a notable junior lawyer within the firm.

Practice head(s):

Robin Balmer

Other key lawyers:

Work highlights

  • Advised HSBC and SMBC International Bank on a $1.165bn green loan dual-tranche commodity murabaha financing to Al Rajhi Bank.
  • Advised Bank Albilad and Bank Aljazira on a $1.165bn commodity murabaha financing to Hamad and Ahmed Mohammed Almozaini Real Estate Co.
  • Advised The Saudi British Bank on the financing arrangements to Shuaibah Three Water Desalination Company in relation to the Shuaibah 3 power generation and seawater desalination project.

Saudi Arabia > Dispute resolution Tier 2

Saudi Arabia > Projects and energy Tier 2

Norton Rose Fulbright has great experience in advising Saudi Arabian and regional banks in conducting public private partnerships and general legal matters for large infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. While the firm conducts a significant amount of work from its London and Dubai offices, practice head David Johnston is based in Riyadh, where he advises on a large variety of infrastructure works, including renewable energy, car parks and water production projects.

Practice head(s):

David Johnston

Testimonials

‘Broad experience in PPP projects across a variety of industries and sectors. Good depth of expertise on the ground in Riyadh.’

‘David Johnston is particularly excellent – super responsive and provides pragmatic and commercially focused advice.’

‘The team is responsive, knowledgeable and possesses a vast amount of experience handling precedent transactions that was extremely helpful in completing our legal due diligence on multiple transactions.’

‘The entire team was exceptional on the recent transaction we worked on together with the team.’

Key clients

Emirates District Cooling (Emicool)

Al Fransi Bank

Bank Al Jazira

Saudi Awwal Bank – SAB (previously SABB)

ACWA Power

Jinko

Metitio

Power & Water Utility Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafiq)

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

National Bank of Kuwait

Ahli United Bank

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank

Work highlights

  • Advising in relation to financing arrangements provided by The Saudi British Bank to Shuaibah Three Water Desalination Company in relation to the Shuaibah 3 power generation and seawater desalination project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • Advising the lenders’ counsel on the Rabigh-4 independent water production (IWP) project.

Saudi Arabia > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 4

The firm: Norton Rose Fulbright has operated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for nearly 20 years and is committed to this dynamic and growing market. Our lawyers possess a deep understanding of the Saudi legal landscape and regulatory environment, delivering superior legal advice and mitigating risk.

The team has a strong reputation for representing government entities, corporates and financial institutions on cross-border transactions and projects, particularly those in the energy, infrastructure and resources, financial services, technology, and transport sectors. We regularly advise on high-profile inbound and outbound investments, business expansion, multi-faceted financings, real estate, and capital markets transactions.

The Riyadh office includes Saudi and internationally qualified bilingual English and Arabic-speaking lawyers, with a demonstrated track record of practicing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The team work closely with our Dubai office and our global network in providing an integrated offering and seamless service to our clients.

Department Name Email Telephone
Head of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Altammami mohammed.altammami@nortonrosefulbright.com
Partner Anwar Ouazzani anwar.ouazzani@nortonrosefulbright.com
Partner David Johnston david.johnston@nortonrosefulbright.com
Partner Abdulkhaliq Elshayyal abdulkhaliq.elshayyal@nortonrosefulbright.com
Photo Name Position Profile
Mohammed Al-Ghamdi photo Mohammed Al-Ghamdi Partner
Robin Balmer photo Robin Balmer Partner
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