Q. Bilal Khan Niazi
Managing Partner · LightMountain Advisory
MBA · BSc (Hons.) · LUMS
Bilal is the Managing Partner of LightMountain Advisory. He has spent over twenty years in emerging markets finance, with a deep focus on the GCC and Asia, covering transaction origination, credit structuring and underwriting, and risk management across both conventional and Islamic instruments.
Before founding LMA, Bilal held director and senior coverage banker roles at First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, First Gulf Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, and United Bank Limited. Across these roles he originated, structured, and underwrote transactions spanning asset-based lending, project finance, and structured (limited/non-recourse) finance.
His signature engagements have included multi-party debt restructuring and re-profiling, first-time international credit lines for strategic regional corporates, and Shariah-compliant project finance across nine sectors. Clients and lenders alike cite his ability to hold the room when negotiations turn difficult — a combination of technical depth, institutional relationships, and quiet persistence.
Signature engagements
- Led SAR 356M cross-border project finance — client's first non-Saudi line of credit
- Arranged AED 200M asset-backed term finance for a strategic UAE shipbuilding platform
- Coordinated multi-lender restructuring across a distressed post-COVID hospitality portfolio
- Delivered independent sell-side valuation for a Saudi logistics group that held through IPO pricing
Sector coverage
Previously
- · First Abu Dhabi Bank
- · Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
- · First Gulf Bank
- · Dubai Islamic Bank
- · United Bank Limited
Education
MBA and BSc (Hons.) — Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)