The Legal 500

It is still not permitted for an international firm to open an office in Indonesia. The Indonesia work handled by the firms ranked above is led from offices in south-east Asia, predominantly Singapore and Hong Kong.

Allen & Overy’s ‘excellent’ Singapore practice is ‘technically extremely capable and has a high degree of commercial maturity’. The firm now has a top-notch local presence with Ginting & Reksodiputro in association with Allen & Overy.

Herbert Smith LLP benefits from a local presence that is ‘probably the best outfit in town’. The lions share of matters are handled out of Jakarta, with the firm regularly sending secondees to Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung to work on the biggest deals.

The ‘extremely responsive and very knowledgeable’ team at Latham & Watkins LLP has an impressive track record on some of the biggest Indonesian M&A and capital markets deals. The team recently represented Indonesian household product manufacturer Megasari Makmur Group in its acquisition by Indian company Godrej Consumer Products Limited of India. Min Yee Ng is praised as ‘very hands-on’. Clarinda Tjia-Dharmadi ‘helps drive one of the best banking practices around’.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has a great reputation for securities work. Giles Kennedy led a team that recently advised PT Karunia Bara Perkasa on the sale of a $286m stake in Harum Energy.

The diligent team at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP recently advised an international consortium on its preparation for the $4bn Central Java IPP project. Jonathan Stone and Rajeev Duggal are singled out for ‘their strong negotiation skills and professionalism’.

At White & Case LLP, ‘fees are reasonable and provide exceptional value compared to competitors’. The practice had a strong year advising on project finance matters, and recently advised RZB in its $200m subscription of equity shares issued by Bumi Resources. Charlie Wilson heads the team, and Kaya Proudian has ‘great experience’ and ‘talks in plain English not “lawyer speak”’. Banking and capital markets Counsel Sin Teck Lim ‘gets through an immense amount of work and is very approachable’.

The bulk of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s Indonesian work is carried out from the Hong Kong office.

Despite not having a local alliance, Clifford Chance still carries out an impressive amount of M&A and financing work in Indonesia, and recently advised mobile telecoms company Axis on a $1.2 billion sharia-compliant financing.

Standout transactions for Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP’s Hong Kong office included advising Berau Coal on its IPO and subsequent debt offerings, and acting for Indonesia’s Star Energy in its high-yield notes offering. William Barron is recommended.

DLA Piper Singapore Pte. Ltd. has good experience advising international investors establishing local subsidiaries. Standout matters included advising coal mining company Techno Orbit Persada on the $200m disposal of its assets. Martin David leads the team.

Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee’s Singapore-based team is devoting increasing attention to 
the Indonesian market and recently advised Medco on the development and financing of a $1.5bn geothermal project in Sumatra. Brad Roach is ‘excellent and has very good commercial acumen’.

Jones Day recently advised coal mining contractor PT Bukit Makmur Mandiri Utama in connection with its $315m tender offer and purchase of senior secured notes from its subsidiary Prime Dig Pte. Joe Bauerschmidt is recommended for securities work and is ‘an excellent lawyer with very good insight into the market’. Mike Arruda is ‘an outstanding upstream oil and gas lawyer’.

In 2010 Linklaters Allen & Gledhill advised RBS on the sale of its commercial banking operations in Indonesia to ANZ Bank.

Norton Rose Australia teamed up with former Soewito Suhardiman Eddymurthy Kardono corporate partner Susandarini to form a new alliance in 2011. The Singapore office recently advised Statoil in its expansion into the Indonesian oil and gas market after acquiring equity interests in several offshore drilling companies.

Standout transactions for Shearman & Sterling LLP included advising J-Power, Itochu and Adaro on the $2.3bn Central Java IPP. Bill McCormack and Sanja Udovicic are the main contacts.

Sidley Austin LLP is best known for its equity capital markets work, and recently advised Krakatau Steel on its IPO on the Indonesian stock exchange. Alex Lloyd, Matthew Sheridan and Prabhat Mehta are the key contacts.

Watson, Farley & Williams LLP is particularly strong in shipping and ship finance. Chris Lowe heads a practice that recently advised a syndicate of banks, led by HSH Nordbank, in a $115m sale and leaseback of three chemical tankers.

Foreign firm associations*

Allen & Overy (Ginting & Reksodiputro in association with Allen & Overy)

Allens Arthur Robinson (Widyawan & Partners)

Baker & McKenzie (Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners)

Blake Dawson (Oentoeng Suria & Partners)

Bond Pearce LLP (Hadromi & Partners)

Freehills (Soemadipradja & Taher)

Herbert Smith LLP (Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung)

Joseph Tan Jude Benny (Hadromi & Partners)

Norton Rose Australia (Susandarini & Partners)

Rouse (Suryomurcito & Co. in association with Rouse)

* includes formal and informal associations