VILAF

Corporate and M&A, Foreign Direct Investment, Corporate Restructure, Contract Law, Employment, Market Access, Customs and WTO

Hanoi Managing Partner

With 31 years of practice and research, Ngoc Anh is a business lawyer with international expertise and local experience on Corporate/M&A, SOE Equitization and State Divestment, foreign direct investment, corporate restructure, contract law, employment, market access, customs and WTO. He has advised clients on various complicated deals in a wide range of heavily regulated industries, such as airlines, automobile, telecom, oil and gas, real estate, energy, trade, securities, manufacturing and services. Ngoc Anh advised Fortune 500 companies in many of Vietnam’s most complex and largest M&A, new foreign investment and regulatory audits and controversies. Since 2020, Asia Business Law Journal lists Ngoc Anh in the list of Vietnam’s top 100 lawyers. Recently, Ngoc Anh is regarded as a Leading Lawyer in Real Estate and Construction by Legal 500 since 2025; since 2023, IFLR 1000 and AsiaLaw respectively rank Ngoc Anh as a Highly Regarded Lawyer and a Notable Practitioner. ALB regarded him as one of the top 15 M&A Lawyers in 2022 and Inhouse Community considers him as Commended External Counsel of the Year 2021 and 2024.

Ngoc Anh’s notable deals include: advising Impact Energy Asia Development Limited in relation to the PPA and financing of a 600MW Wind Power Project in Laos, the Project Finance Deal of the Year 2024 awarded by IFLR; advising in the sale of entire shares in Premier Oil Vietnam Offshore B.V. and Premier Oil (Vietnam) Limited which collectively hold 53.125% participating interests in the Production Sharing Contract of Block 12W, offshore Vietnam by Harbour Energy group to EnQuest group; advising Ophir Jaguar 2 Limited, a company of Medco Energi group in selling its entire shares in Ophir Vietnam Block 12W B.V., the contractor holding a 31.875% participating interest in Block 12W offshore Vietnam, to Bitexco Energy Company Limited, a Vietnamese company; advising Augusta Investment Limited in relation to the acquisition of private business portfolio from SCB with the value of more than US$1 billion; advising an Italian power company’s acquisition of 100% share capital from a local developer to develop a 700MW ground based solar power and 200MW onshore wind power in Dak Lak, Vietnam; assisting LOGOS in the 100% acquisition of shares to take over the industrial land in VSIP Bac Ninh in Vietnam with the total area of 13 hectare; advising SMBC Nikko Cordial Securities Company in acquiring shares of PSI, a securities broker under PetroVietnam; advising a Japanese manufacturer in relation to acquisition of a paper manufacturing company; advising a Japanese internet company in acquiring a Vietnamese software company; advising a local distribution company with various electronic stores in issuing new shares to its foreign strategic investors; advising a Japanese wiring company in acquiring 100% equity in a current manufacturing company in Vietnam; advising a Singaporean company in acquiring TD Plaza and setting up a new company to operate the serviced apartment; advising a giant Korean investor in the US$1.5 billion new investment project in Vietnam; advising foreign investors and joint venture companies in automobile, telecom, real estate, manufacturing and services; and advising Petronas on strategic investment in renewable energy in Vietnam.

Ngoc Anh advised a Japanese investor in acquiring 8% equity in Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) to become Petrolimex’s strategic foreign investor. Petrolimex is a giant equitized SOE on petroleum distribution, which was originally a State trading corporation and was first IPO in 2011.

Ngoc Anh also advised a Japanese investor in acquiring 8.771% equity in Vietnam Airlines JSC (Vietnam Airlines), to become Vietnam Airlines’ strategic foreign investor. Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam, which was a giant equitized SOE, and first IPO in 2014, and first listed on 03 January 2017.

Vietnamese, English

IBA, AmCham

Hanoi Bar

Georgetown University Law Center, S.J.D./Doctor of Judicial Science, with distinction, 2007; Fellow, Institute of International Economic Law, 2004-2006

Institute for State and Law Studies, Hanoi, LLM, 2001

Institute of Social Studies, the Netherland, Post-graduate Diploma, 1999

Hanoi Law University, Hanoi, Vietnam, LLB, 1995

Ngoc Anh concluded his doctoral degree, with distinction, on international trade law at Georgetown University Law Center in 2007. During his time in Washington DC, he worked for Steptoe & Johnson for one and a half years on international trade and foreign investment in Vietnam. Before his study in the US, Ngoc Anh worked for the USVTC in Hanoi on various technical assistance programs on Vietnam's WTO accession negotiation and Vietnam's implementation of the 2000 US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement.