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Dubai: Malaysia's Zaid Ebrahim and Company recently became the first Southeast Asian law firm to receive a licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), hoping to capitalise on the growing business links between the Gulf and East Asia.
The company will provide legal services to local, regional and international clients in and from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The firm's operations in Dubai is headed by senior associate Fared Hussain and supported by the firm's team of corporate lawyers from the corporate, projects and Islamic banking practices.
Marking a new phase in its international expansion plans, the Dubai office will be the firm's sixth office outside Malaysia and will serve existing and potential clients from or with interests in the Middle East.
Zaid Ebrahim has more than 160 lawyers in an extensive network of regional offices in the Asean region, including Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and now, Dubai.
Stronger cluster
"With this licence, our expert team of lawyers with an established track record of structuring Islamic finance and banking deals and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, is poised to position itself as the gateway for Malaysian and Southeast Asian clients seeking legal and business support for their existing and potential commercial interests in Dubai and the Middle Eastern region, as a whole as well as for international clients based in the Middle East with interests in Malaysia and the Asean region," said Nik Norzrul Thani, chairman of Zaid Ebrahim and Company.
Nasser Al Sha'ali, chief executive officer of the DIFC Authority said, the Malaysian company will add "considerable value to the pool of legal expertise in DIFC."
"DIFC is keen to attract quality legal firms like Zaid Ebrahim and Company as part of our efforts to build an even stronger and more productive industry cluster," he said.
Zaid Ebrahim has structured some of the most innovative financing transactions in the region to date. In Brunei, it was appointed advisor for the first issuance of $100 million Islamic bonds.
It also advised Dubai Investment Group on the acquisition of Bank Islam, Malaysia's oldest Islamic bank.
Zaid Ebrahim has existing mandates to advise clients in and outside Malaysia on a range of investments, including the setting up of funds, and has been chosen to advise on the development of a legal and regulatory framework for Islamic financial services in the region. This includes the drafting of legislation and guidelines in the Middle East.
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