Projects and energy in Hong Kong
Baker Botts L.L.P.
Baker Botts L.L.P. stands out for its 'technical excellence', 'practical advice' and 'personal approach with clients'. Upstream projects remain prominent in the firm's recent workload, and the team has also been kept busy handling floating LNG projects. Clients include a number of major global energy sector companies. Key names in the practice include Michael Arruda, who is noted for handling Indonesia-based projects; Joanne Du, who has a focus on advising oil and gas sector clients on project investments; and the 'responsive' Russell Wilkinson, who is singled out for his 'vast technical and commercial knowledge'. Head of Projects Jason Bennett is based in Houston.
Practice head(s):
Jason Bennett
Other key lawyers:
Herbert Smith Freehills
The team at Herbert Smith Freehills assisted CNPCI with its participation in South Pars Block Phase 11, a gas field in the Persian Gulf, and recently advised the client on sanctions compliance following the US withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and US sanctions being re-imposed on Iran in 2018. Hilary Lau is well known for his expertise in handling LNG and oil and gas matters; he jointly leads the practice with Danila Logofet.
Practice head(s):
Hilary Lau; Danila Logofet
Key clients
Gazprom
Poly-GCL
CNPC
ENN Ecological Holdings
Nornickel
Panda Green Energy
Work highlights
- Advising Poly-GCL on all aspects of its $4bn Ethiopia-Djibouti gas-to-LNG project.
- Assisting Gazprom with the construction, procurement and financing of the Amur Gas Processing Plant project in Russia; the plant will form part of the Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline project.
- Advised CNPC and CNOOC on the acquisition of a 10% stake each in investment in Arctic LNG 2, an LNG production project owned by natural gas producer Novatek.
- Advised ENN Ecological Holdings on its multimillion-dollar acquisition of Toshiba’s US-based LNG business.
Linklaters
The 'very responsive' team at Linklaters has a strong track record in advising lender-side clients on high-value development and financing mandates for multinational energy and infrastructure projects. Renewable energy is a core strength for the group. The 'excellent negotiator' Stuart Salt shares leadership of the practice with James McLaren and Crystal Chen.
Practice head(s):
Stuart Salt; James McLaren; Crystal Chen
Testimonials
‘Linklaters houses a strong bench of solid performers at all levels‘.
‘James McLaren is an excellent lawyer‘.
Key clients
China Light and Power
Hong Kong Electric
China Construction Bank
PETRONAS
Rosneft
Sinopec
China Development Bank
JP Morgan
Morgan Stanley
Rio Tinto
Work highlights
- Acting for a consortium of lenders on the $2.75bn project financing of the Brass Island petrochemical complex in Nigeria.
- Advised mining company PT Pamapersada Nusantara (PAMA) on the $1.21bn acquisition of the Martabe gold-silver mine in Indonesia.
- Represented investment bank Natixis as lead arranger and underwriter of the $150m project financing to Pacific Light Data Communication for the development of the Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN) project, which is the first subsea cable to directly connect Hong Kong and the US.
- Advising the Vung Ang II Thermal Power Joint Stock Company on all aspects of the on-going 1200MW Vung Ang 2 thermal power project, an imported coal BOT project in Vietnam.
- Advising a consortium of lenders and export credit agencies on the project financing of the planned Formosa 2 offshore wind project to be developed in Taiwan.
King & Wood Mallesons
King & Wood Mallesons garners praise for its 'deep knowledge' of the projects and infrastructure space. The team continues to assist Ningxia Tianyuan Logistics Group with its negotiations with the Ghana Ministry of Railways Development for a potential Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) arrangement for the development of the Western Railway Line in Ghana. Sam Farrands heads the practice which is also able to lean on its bench strength from the firm's Beijing team.
Practice head(s):
Sam Farrands
Key clients
Ningxia Tianyuan Logistics Group
Bouygues Bâtiment International
Dragages Hong Kong
Evernal Energy
ACWA Power
Work highlights
- Advising Bouygues Bâtiment International on a tender submission for the development and operation of an integrated sports precinct in Kai Tak.
- Assisting Evernal Energy with all aspects of the development of a floating storage and regasification unit (FRSU) for LNG in Southern China; the project involves LNG procurement from Australia, Qatar and Indonesia.
Latham & Watkins LLP
The team at Latham & Watkins LLP has been advising on high-value natural resources and energy acquisitions, investments and joint ventures within the LNG, oil and gas, and wind power sectors, among others. Practice head David Blumental is the name to note.
Practice head(s):
David Blumental
Key clients
Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries
Indian Oil Corporation
Bharat PetroResources
Harbin Electric Company
Work highlights
- Acted for Indian Oil Corporation in the acquisition of an upstream oil and gas asset worth $329m from Shell in Oman.
- Assisted Tianqi Lithium Corporation with the $3.5bn financing to acquire a 24% stake in Chilean company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from Nutrien.
Watson Farley & Williams
Linh Doan heads up the projects and energy team at Watson Farley & Williams which acts for governmental organisations, financial institutions and international energy companies in a number of cross-border project financing and development mandates. Madeline Leong has a focus on structured, project and asset financing matters.
Practice head(s):
Linh Doan
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Export-Import Bank of Korea
Export-Import Bank of China
Citibank
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam
MUFG Bank
Work highlights
- Advising the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam on the development of Nghi Son 2, a $2.3bn 1200MW coal-fired power project in Vietnam.
- Assisting InfraCo Asia with its investment in a 168MW solar project being developed in in Vietnam.
- Advising the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam on the development of Van Phong 1, a 1320MW coal-fired thermal power plant project in Vietnam.
Dechert
Xiao Yong is the key name at Dechert, which counts upstream, downstream, LNG and nuclear power projects as core areas of expertise, as well as the oil and gas industry as a key sector strength. Cross-border mandates also feature prominently in the team's workload.
Practice head(s):
Xiao Yong
Key clients
TerraPower
Sinopec
Work highlights
- Acted for a prominent private equity fund on a $810m indirect acquisition of two CBM blocks in China, including a private company acquisition and a takeover of an Australia-listed gas company.
- Assisting Sinopec with its proposed divestment of oil assets in Argentina.
- Advised a prominent oil and gas company on two M&A transactions regarding the sale of its oil and gas assets in Canada.
- Assisted a prominent construction company with a $10bn oil refinery development project in Iraq.
DLA Piper
Project finance is a core strength of DLA Piper's practice, with a particular focus on private natural gas, mining and oil mandates. The firm has also been handling international renewable energy work, advising clients on financing the development of water, solar and geothermal power projects. Infrastructure work has been another prominent area of instruction for the team, which falls under the shared leadership of Carolyn Dong and Matthias Schemuth.
Practice head(s):
Carolyn Dong; Matthias Schemuth
Testimonials
‘Carolyn Dong is efficient and always focuses on the client’s needs‘.
‘Matthias Schemuth has exceptional knowledge, and thinks outside the box for solutions‘.
Key clients
ENN Ecological Holdings
China Energy Investment Corp
Sky Solar Holdings
ANZ
Arctic Green Energy Corporation
DZ Bank
Indonesia Power
Work highlights
- Advised Australia-based bank ANZ as the arranger of a syndicate of 20 banks regarding a $300m syndicated loan to China Water Affairs for the development and construction and purchase of water projects in China.
- Assisting China Energy Investment Corp with all aspects of an ongoing $1.8bn power plant development, which is part of the Jawa 7 project in Indonesia.
- Advising Sky Solar Holdings in relation to its ¥10bn facility provided by Aozora Bankfor the development and buy-out of 107MW of solar projects from Solar Partnership Capital and Conscious Partners KK in Japan.
- Representing Iceland-based Arctic Green Energy Corporation regarding its investments in mainland China.
Fangda Partners
Fangda Partners' team, led by Michael Tam, has been particularly active in greenfield investment and infrastructure matters, with a key focus on the renewable energy and LNG sectors, including solar, wind and hydropower projects. Joe Biqing Zhou is very experienced in cross-border infrastructure projects.
Practice head(s):
Michael Tam
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Veolia
Hong Kong Electric
Shanghai Electric
Shenzhen Energy Group
PowerChina
Work highlights
- Assisting China-based power generation company, Shenzhen Energy Group, on all phases of the 180MW BOT Ramu 2 hydropower project being developed in Papua New Guinea.
- Advising Taihu Holding on the first phase of the development of a 600MW wind and solar farm project in the Philippines.
- Representing Shanghai Electric in its engineering, procurement and construction project for constructing a 440MW combined cycle power plant and an LNG terminal project in Panama.
- Representing Beijing Urban Construction Group on the development of a combined hotel and international convention centre project located in the Maldives.
Gibson Dunn
Gibson Dunn's team, led by Patricia Tan Openshaw, counts project finance and development work as key strengths, notably in the transport, energy and infrastructure sectors, and is particularly active in Philippines-based power projects. Clients include prominent power corporations, infrastructure companies and government entities. Of counsel Cristina Uy-Tioco is singled out.
Practice head(s):
Patricia Tan Openshaw
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Meralco
Aboitiz Power Corporation
Work highlights
- Assisting Manila Electric Company with its winning bid for the management of and investments in the Electricity Company of Ghana.
- Acted for Yida China Holdings in its $700m acquisition of an offshore company holding indirect real estate development projects in China.
Jones Day
Recent work highlights for the team at Jones Day includes advising solar panel manufacturer JinkoSolar LATAM Holding on a $40m facility and a $30m greenshoe facility arranged by the Singapore branch of Credit Suisse for financing four solar projects in Argentina and Mexico. Maria Pedersen is the main practitioner to note.
Practice head(s):
Maria Pedersen
Pinsent Masons
Pinsent Masons is well known for representing China-based energy clients in multi-jurisdictional power projects and investments, and has been particularly active in infrastructure and PPP-related work. The Hong Kong team, in conjunction with its counterparts in Beijing and Shanghai, has also been acting for high-profile Vietnam-related projects. John Yeap shares leadership of the practice with Singapore-based James Harris.
Practice head(s):
John Yeap; James Harris
Key clients
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam
The Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam
Work highlights
- Advising the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam on the ongoing $2.5bn financing, construction, and operation of the 1200MW Vung Ang II coal-fired thermal power project.
- Assisting the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam with setting up a comprehensive PPP infrastructure investment programme.
- Advising the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam on the 1200MW Song Hau 1 coal-fired power plant project.