Tarek Yehya

Practice Areas

Tarek is a partner in the Kuwait office, and the head of capital markets practice. One of the most active transactional lawyers in Kuwait, Tarek advises local and international clients on some of the most complex matters under regional laws. Tarek is regarded as one of the leading legal advisors on capital markets in Kuwait, an area where he regularly advises on initial public offerings, equity and debt issuances, funds offerings, public take-overs, as well as capital markets compliance matters, including securities and corporate governance.

Many of the capital markets and securities matters on which he has worked have set precedents and broken new ground legally.

In the past year, Tarek has been active in capital markets issuances in a range of sectors, mainly representing issuers and joint lead managers.

Work Highlights

Tarek’s work highlights include advising the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on the privatisation of Kuwait’s national stock exchange, establishing a regulatory framework and corporate governance structure aligned with global best practices. He acted for Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) in preparing a feasibility study for the establishment of three special economic zones in Kuwait. Tarek also represented the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) in implementing the national development plan under Law No. 9 of 2010 and worked with the World Bank on drafting Kuwait’s corporate restructuring, rehabilitation, and insolvency laws.

Tarek advised the government on the $85 billion development of Madinat al-Hareer (Silk City), a transformative 450-square-kilometre project integrating residential, commercial, and industrial elements with multimodal infrastructure. Additionally, he advised Kuwait Media City Company under the Kuwait Development Plan, overseeing the feasibility study, auction and bidding processes, IPO preparations, and the structuring of key project agreements.