backA multi-office King & Spalding team represented Halal Products Development Company (“HPDC”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (“PIF”), on an investment into Believe Pte Ltd, a global halal cosmetics and personal care company (“Believe”). HPDC was launched by PIF in 2022 with the goal of expanding the halal ecosystem both in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and globally. HPDC’s ultimate goal is to promote Saudi Arabia as a global halal hub. In addition, HPDC seeks to enhance knowledge and innovation in the halal sector through the localization of knowledge, technology, and innovation to develop halal products.
The halal products sector includes food products, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Believe is a global manufacturer and distributor of halal cosmetics and personal care products and owns 5 brands within the sector that are already distributed across the world. Believe holds halal certification for all its products and is one of the largest companies in the halal cosmetics and personal care sector in terms of sales, product diversity, and market reach. A team of lawyers from King & Spalding’s Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Brussels and Singapore offices advised HPDC on the matter. The team was led by James Stull (Dubai), Parveet Singh Gandoak (Singapore) and Nabil Issa (Dubai) and included Michael Ng (Singapore), Saud Aldawsari (Riyadh), Jamie Kershaw (Dubai), Eoin Coffey (Abu Dhabi), Sherif Saleh (Dubai) and Krystal Kong (Singapore). Salomé Cisnal de Ugarte (Brussels) provided anti-trust advice.