Linklaters acted for the managers on the first Islamic exchangeable Sukuk issue, the $750m exchangeable trust certificates issued by the Malaysian Government’s investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Berhad. This is the first Sharia’a compliant Sukuk issue which incorporates the full convertibility features usually seen in conventional equity-linked transactions. The issue is also the largest equity-linked instrument in Asia (excluding Japan) this year.

The Sukuk issue has been determined to be compliant with Sharia’a law by noted Sharia’a scholars while retaining many key features expected of conventional equity-linked instruments.

The five-year exchangeable trust certificates, maturing in 2011, drew considerable interest in the market.

Kevin Wong, Linklaters managing partner in Singapore, commented:

"This was an innovative deal which demonstrates the ongoing development and sophisticated nature of Islamic finance, and also the importance of Malaysia as one of the key Islamic financial centres in the world. Khazanah has set a new benchmark for both global Islamic investors and conventional equity-linked investors in a single, cutting-edge transaction.”
The Linklaters team was led by Singapore managing partner Kevin Wong and included Luma Saqqaf in Dubai, head of Linklaters' Middle East Islamic finance practice. Associates involved included Jeanne Ong, Haitham Hawashim, and Aloysius Tan. Clifford Chance advised Khazanah Nasional Berhad.