Middle East and Africa

Atsumi & Sakai has established a Middle East and Africa practice group to provide comprehensive support with respect to transactions between the Middle East and Africa and Japan.

Lawyers in the Practice Group have significant experience of transactions in and from the region and the Group includes a foreign lawyer with more than a decade of working in Dubai. The Group can assist clients on a range of complex matters including, amongst other areas, banking (including Shariah compliant Islamic transactions), M&A, litigation and arbitration, FinTech and tax.

Given its significant regional expertise, Atsumi & Sakai is fully able to support the expansion of Japanese clients within the Middle East and Africa, providing guidance and support with local legal issues through our network of leading regional law firms, and to assist companies from the region who are looking to do business in Japan.

Sample Material Transactions *

Advised a Japanese oil company on the sale of an oil field in the Gulf region
Advised an Israeli IT company on inward investment into Japan
Advised a Japanese bank on project financing for IWPP projects in the Middle East (including Kuwait and UAE)
Advised publicly-funded financial institutions on the structuring, establishment, public procurement, and financing of social and economic infrastructure development “impact finance” initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, including transport, water, and power projects
Advised on internal and external compliance issues and drafting compliance reports relating to corruption and bribery allegations in Kenya
Advised an African bank on aspects of financing a Japanese business in Africa
Advised on commercial agreements for projects in the Gulf region
Advised a Japanese bank with regard to a project financing in Qatar
Advised a Japanese corporate with regard to competition law issues in the United Arab Emirates
Advised a Japanese bank on jurisdictional issues relating to a financing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Advised a local UAE law firm with regard to a commercial dispute relating to the termination of a distribution agreement
Advised UAE retailers with regard to a Japanese Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA) claim for compensation against a Japanese listed company