Sahal Khalawi | People | Baker McKenzie

Biography

Sahal is a Saudi and New York-qualified lawyer specializing in corporate and strategic legal advisory, regulatory and public policy. He possesses a wealth of top-tier transactional and regulatory experience having worked in the center of government and supported government entities as well as international and local companies with their strategic legal advice, regulatory and public policy objectives.

Representative Legal Matters

Led the development and review of the regulatory ecosystems of multiple Giga projects in the kingdom, including the strategies, policies, laws and regulations.
Led multiple projects relating to the development and restructuring of the regulatory, judicial and policy making ecosystems in the kingdom.
Led the establishment and restructuring of multiple center of government committees, government entities, authorities and centers, including the drafting and review of the relevant bylaws and representing such entities within the center of government.
Led the review and development of multiple laws and regulations within the center of government, ensuring their alignment with the relevant policies and strategies and that the appropriate trade-offs are measured and made. Also represented the center of government in the discussions with the relevant entities, including the Bureau of Experts and the relevant strategic and policy committees.
Advised on the review and approval of multiple Special Economic Zones in the kingdom. This included the zones structures and strategies, incentive packages, regulatory exemptions, approval plans, and stakeholders management.
Advised on various PPP and privatization transactions, including in the education, health, transport, water and agriculture sectors initiatives.
Advised on the development of the PPP and privatization and transactional ecosystem, representing the National Center for Privatization & PPP and the center of government.
Advised SAMA with respect to developing real estate and personal finance policies, standards, product contract templates, and procedures.
Advised on the establishment of the Government of Saudi Arabia‘s unlimited SAR-denominated domestic Sukuk program, and many issuances thereunder.
Advised a syndicate of 35 international and Saudi banks on USD 5 billion Islamic and conventional facilities in connection with refinancing of a refinery in Saudi Arabia.
Advised a listed company in relation to a revolving credit facility consisting of two tranches: a domestic Murabaha facility in the amount of SAR 3 billion, and an international facility in the amount of USD 1.5 billion.
Led the securitization and sale of a Saudi bank’s portfolio of leased real estate assets to a real estate re-financing company.
Advised on the merger between SABB and Al-awwal banks.

Admissions

New York~United States
Saudi Arabia

Education

Sharia College, Islamic University of Madinah
Georgetown University

Languages

Arabic
English