Clifford Chance (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo)‘s team harnesses expertise across the oil and gas, mining and metals, power, renewables and infrastructure sectors, amongst others. Yusuke Abe and Hans Menski co-head the team, which serves a clientele comprising Japanese and foreign investors and sponsors, as well as commercial banks and ECAs. Abe is an expert in cross-border project finance and regulatory matters in the energy sector, while Menski specialises in complex, multi-source financings and international investments. Project M&A is the mainstay of Natsuko Sugihara’s practice, whilst Peter Harris handles arbitrations in the energy and resources space.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team has deep experience in corporate and project finance across many sectors in the Asia Pacific.’
‘Hans Menski is an outstanding lawyer with a thorough understanding of, and commercial approach to, project finance transactions across the Asia Pacific.’
‘Clifford Chance's team was very responsive to our requests and willing to accommodate the client's needs.’
‘Their responses are always very quick, and they give precise advice in response to our requests.'
'Even for complex and advanced cases, they always give clear and appropriate advice to the client.'
'They provide a very high level of service at a reasonable price. They always gather information about the industry appropriately, and they always carefully observe industry trends so that they can provide the services that clients need.’
Key clients
- Japan Bank for International Cooperation
- Daiwa Energy & Infrastructure Co. Ltd.
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
- Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
- MUFG Bank, Ltd.
- Nippon Export and Investment Insurance
- Standard Chartered Bank
- HSBC Bank
- Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
Work highlights
Advising Japan Bank for International Cooperation and other Japanese banks as lenders on the approximately USD800m financing of the development of upstream offshore gas fields and construction of an offshore gas transportation pipeline in Vietnam.
Advising the lenders on ongoing matters relating to the development and financing of a 584MW gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh, one of the largest power plants in Bangladesh and a significant project for the lenders and the local and international sponsors.
Advised the lenders in relation to achieving financial close on the $1.1bn financing of seven 174,000 m3 LNG carriers, and on ongoing matters post-financial close, including entry into interest rate hedging.
Lawyers
Leading partners: Bengoshi
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading partners: Gaiben
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Yusuke Abe; Hans Menski
Other key lawyers
Natsuko Sugihara; Peter Harris; John Edmunds