Winner: Calyon
Calyon’s Islamic banking team made big strides over the past year. The French bank was involved in several eye-catching deals, including financing for the Ma’aden Phosphate Company’s $5.6 billion development in Saudi Arabia.
Another big-ticket transaction that Calyon participated in was the $2.5 billion Project Blue, a project jointly owned by sovereign fund Qatari Diar and CPC Group, a private property trading and development company. The two partners acquired the Chelsea Barracks property from the UK’s defence ministry for £999 million with the intention of turning it into a prime residential location.
The purchase of the property was financed by a $2.5 billion ijara facility that was fully underwritten and which benefited from an unconditional guarantee from Qatari Diar. The transaction was the largest Islamic real estate deal in 2008.
Calyon can also point to some impressive deals in the sukuk market. In March, the bank acted as sole bookrunner to the central bank of Bahrain in its $350 million, five-year issue. The order book was more than two times oversubscribed and comprised more than 25 investors. The deal was the first public debt capital market transaction out of the GCC last year. It also acted as a prelude to a partial refinancing of a dollar-denominated Eurobond by the central bank on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
With a presence in Bahrain, London and Malaysia, Calyon continues to grow its Islamic banking team.
