Yasmeen Qotbi

Biography

Yasmeen has over (10) years experience advising on multiple areas of law. She has particular expertise in corporate law, capital markets, and non-banking financial services.

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Recent Experience

• Advising on and contributing to landmark legislative and regulatory reforms across the non-banking financial services sector, including cross-border regulatory considerations, through acting as a key contributor to the drafting of the Consumer Finance Law, forming part of Egypt’s broader financial inclusion and non-banking financial services reform agenda.
• Contributing to the 2018 amendments to the Executive Regulations of Capital Market Law No. 95/1992, enhancing regulatory oversight, governance standards, and market transparency, including alignment with international best practices and cross-border investment considerations.
• Participating in the drafting of amendments to the Microfinance Law and the Central Depository Law, strengthening the legal infrastructure underpinning Egypt’s capital markets and financial services ecosystem, with attention to cross-border custody and settlement implications.
• Assisting in the development of Egypt’s Green Bonds regulatory framework, supporting the introduction of sustainable finance instruments into the Egyptian market and facilitating cross-border issuances and foreign investor participation.
• Preparing a significant regulatory report in relation to the establishment of the new Central Securities Depository (CSD) company in Egypt, and playing a key role in its incorporation process, including advising on regulatory structuring, constitutional documentation, and engagement with relevant regulators and authorities, taking into account cross-border clearing and settlement frameworks.
• Leading regulatory coordination, while representing the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), regarding proposed amendments to the Movables Collateral Law, and spearheading the FRA’s input into the World Bank Doing Business Questionnaire, contributing to Egypt’s international regulatory assessment and ranking.
• Acting as Local Lenders’ Legal Advisor to prospective lenders and multilateral financial institutions in connection with limited recourse project finance facilities extended to locally established sponsors for the development of large-scale energy projects in Egypt, including renewable energy developments. The role included leading and coordinating comprehensive legal due diligence, advising on transaction structuring and regulatory compliance, drafting and perfecting the full security package, and assessing the bankability and enforceability of project and finance documents within the Egyptian legal framework, including cross-border financing structures.
• Acting as Egyptian local counsel on a range of cross-border derivatives and repurchase transactions structured under the 2002 ISDA Master Agreement and the GMRA framework. Advising on the structuring and implementation of security packages involving Egyptian entities, leading negotiations of Egyptian law-governed security documentation, coordinating conditions precedent, and issuing Egyptian law capacity and enforceability opinions in respect of transaction and guarantee arrangements.
• Advising on the enforceability and implementation of tripartite netting arrangements under Egyptian law, including cross-border netting structures. Providing strategic guidance on the applicable legal framework, structuring, and operational considerations to ensure compliance with local regulations, and delivering practical recommendations for Egyptian entities participating in international derivatives and structured finance transactions.
• Extensive experience advising clients in the Egyptian insurance sector in light of the new Unified Insurance Law, assisting them in reconciling operations and ensuring compliance with applicable governance rules. The practice has supported TPAs, HMOs, non-resident reinsurance brokers, and local insurance companies and brokers on regulatory, operational, and commercial matters, including cross-border reinsurance and brokerage structures.
• Established one of the leading companies in Egypt’s consumer finance sector, leading the legal structuring and setup from inception, overseeing licensing and regulatory approvals, corporate governance frameworks, operational documentation, financing structures, and engagement with regulators. This included ensuring full compliance with the applicable financial regulatory regime and aligning the company’s legal and operational model with best market practices and group-level governance standards.
• Served as Legal Counsel for one of the leading ride-hailing companies in Egypt, advising on a broad spectrum of legal matters across regulatory, commercial, competition, employment, consumer protection, data privacy, and dispute resolution, including cross-border operational and data transfer considerations.
• Acting as Egyptian counsel on complex Islamic finance transactions structured through Master Collateralized Murabaha frameworks, advising on transaction structuring, Shari’a-compliant security arrangements and sovereign sukuk-backed financing. Leading the negotiation and implementation of Egyptian law security packages, coordinating with central depository authorities for the registration and perfection of pledged sovereign sukuk, and issuing Egyptian law capacity and enforceability opinions in connection with cross-border Islamic financing arrangements.
• Advising on the payment of interest and redemption in foreign currency and the regulatory framework governing capital controls in Egypt, providing a concise overview of applicable domestic and cross-border legal considerations. Assessing economic impacts, risk exposure, and compliant fund transfer mechanisms into Egypt, including the use of local and foreign prepaid cards, and advising on domestic and foreign NGO regulatory requirements.
• Acting as Egyptian counsel to a leading multinational logistics and courier services provider in connection with a USD 150,000,000 cross-border financing involving several local guarantors. Advised on all local law aspects of the transaction, including the negotiation, drafting, and execution of the financing and security documents, and assisted with the satisfaction of all conditions precedent through to successful financial close.
• Acting as Egyptian counsel in connection with a cross-border financing entered into by a leading multinational trading and services company incorporated in the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), operating across multiple sectors including commercial trading, logistics, and supply chain services, and involving several local guarantors. Advised on all local law aspects of the transaction in relation to the guarantors, including the negotiation, drafting, and execution of the relevant financing and security documentation, and assisted through to the fulfilment of all conditions precedent and financial close.
• Advising the Hungarian Export-Import Bank and Russian Export-Import Bank on a €1.1 billion financing to the Egyptian National Railway Authority, representing one of the largest financings in the transportation sector, where I worked on the subsequent amendments to the transaction documents, including the issuance of the relevant legal opinions in connection with such amendments.
• Assisting in the preparation of comprehensive guidance for Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and Payment System Operators (PSOs) from an Egyptian law regulatory perspective, analyzing the applicable banking, financial regulatory, and fintech frameworks, including cross-border payment and settlement considerations, and aligning guidance with the rules and circulars issued by the Central Bank of Egypt.