Abdelhak El Kinany
Image of Abdelhak El Kinany

Abdelhak El Kinany

Senior Associate

Email

Abdelhak.ElKinany@aoshearman.com

Phone

+971 4 426 7145

Offices

Dubai

V-CARD
Abdelhak is an expert in distressed restructurings, insolvency matters and highly structured financings.

Abdelhak has extensive experience in advising creditors, debtors, insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders on resolving complex and high-profile distressed situations, both in and out of court, across multiple jurisdictions. 
 
Abdelhak also advises financial institutions and corporate borrowers on a wide range of financings, including acquisition finance, real estate finance, project finance and trade finance, using conventional and Sharia-compliant financing structures, as well as hybrid structures that combine both. 

 
Abdelhak has been based in the UAE since 2017, where he has worked on some of the most significant restructurings and financings in the Middle East.

Expertise

Experience

Representative matters

  • The co-ordinating committee of creditors in relation to the court-controlled restructuring of Emirates Hospitals Group (the first large scale restructuring plan to be sanctioned under the onshore UAE Bankruptcy Law).
  • Arabtec Holding PJSC (a former Dubai listed construction company) in relation to its group-wide insolvency issues and formal bankruptcy proceedings in the UAE (the first large scale formal bankruptcy process in the UAE (onshore)).
  • A utility company in connection with the restructuring of its debt from a group of international and regional banks.
  • The financial creditors to Gulf Marine Services (a group listed on the LSE whose core business is in the Middle East marine services industry) on the restructuring of its financial indebtedness.
  • A global financial institution's Private Credit and Debt Capital Markets teams on the financing of a US$167m highly structured and complex sukuk issuance, which in part refinanced US$147m of Nordic bonds issued by Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company (BPGIC) following its acquisition by Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC (GulfNav). 
  • The syndicate of lenders on an AED17bn conventional and Islamic financing to Nakheel PJSC which was secured against a portfolio of properties located in Dubai.
  • Qiddiya Investment Company on the three bilateral facilities drafted and negotiated in Arabic.
  • An international retail group on the AED3 billion pre-acquisition financing provided by the proposed strategic purchaser of a 20% stake in the business.

Speaking Engagements

  • UAE Bankruptcy Law From a Creditor/Lender's Perspective to Loan Market Association, April 2023
  • Presentation on the UAE Bankruptcy Law to the Lebanese Business Council, October 2020

Qualifications

Admissions

Solicitor, England and Wales, since 2020 

Avocat à la Cour, France, 2013-2022

Academic

University Degree in Restructuring and Insolvency, Sorbonne University, 2023

Master’s Degree in Financial Law, Sorbonne University, 2011

Languages

Arabic, French
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.