ENERGY, INFRASTRUCTURE & PROJECTS
Our Energy, Infrastructure & Projects practice covers all aspects of project development from green field stage, commercial operation, licensing approvals, permits, concession agreements and project documentation, plant operations and maintenance, and exit strategies. Our directors and lawyers have been involved in a broad range of projects in Laos and in the region, advising diverse stakeholders including governments, sponsors, contractors, and financiers locally and in the region.
Some of the notable projects where our directors and lawyers have been involved or are currently involved in include the Donsahong Hydropower Project, Hongsa Lignite Power Project, Thuen Hinboune Power Project and the Nam Thuen 2 Hydropower Project.
LAND & REAL ESTATES
Recently our law firm introduced an investment model for land and real estate investment and development in the form of business cooperation by contract under the Investment Promotion Law of Laos that allows foreign investors to have a long-term investment in land and real estate businesses in Laos. The investment model also offers proper exist strategy to secure effective benefit sharing for all parties involved in the transaction.
LITIGATION
Our Litigation practice comprises directors and lawyers with strong reputations and long term experience in Lao and/or crossed border litigation, both in the Laotian and regional courts, involving civil, commercial, banking and finance, shareholder, corporate governance, construction and property disputes, to name a few. With an active practice in the Laos courts, we are well placed to advise clients on substantive, jurisdictions and procedural matters. We have extensive and long term experience to advise and represent clients before the Lao courts at all levels.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION
Our ADR and Arbitration practice comprises directors and lawyers with a wide range of experience and expertise in corporate and commercial disputes involving a number of different countries and diverse industries. Our ADR and Arbitration lawyers have advised and represented Laotian and foreign clients in international arbitration proceedings in Singapore and Malaysia, including disputes involving the development and construction of power plants, the development of commercial properties, the gaming industry and bilateral international treaties.
JUDGEMENT ENFORCEMENT
We have directors and lawyers who have advised and represented clients on enforcements of final court decisions and/or judgements, including enforcements of regional and international arbitration awards, mediation agreements and/or settlement agreements in Laos. Our teams have knowledge and experience to undertake recover actions to identify assets of the subject persons, to make filing, registration and perfection of security interests and ask judgement enforcement officers to issue orders for interim measures, issues orders or taking actions against judgement debtors or their assets to secure judgement enforcements.
BANKING & FINANCE
Our Banking & Finance practice operates across the full spectrum of financing transactions and covers all banking and finance products, including general lending, and financing involving real estate, infrastructure projects, assets and commodities. Our experience ranges from bilateral facilities to the most complicated cross-border secured and unsecured syndicated loans as well as highly structured debt financings and restructurings.
Having been involved in the development of the banking and financial sector of Laos at the policy level, our directors and lawyers continue to play a part in the development of this sector through involvement in many key and pioneering banking and financial matters. For instance, we have assisted the Laotian central bank, Bank of the Lao PDR, on various policy and reform initiatives and have provided training programmes for credit and legal officers of three state-owned commercial banks.
LICENSING & REGULATORY COMPLIANCE
Our firm is uniquely placed to provide advisory services to clients on licensing and regulatory compliances under Lao applicable laws, concession and project development agreements and licensing and regulatory requirements imposed by competent regulators in relation to hydro power projects, banking and finance sectors. We have advised clients to develop code of conducts, standard rules and procedure for self-monitory and compliance in order to reduce risk and costs of clients related to Government inspection and supervision.
CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL
Our Corporate & Commercial practice deals with a wide range of corporate and commercial matters across a spectrum of domestic and cross-border transactions. Our practice encompasses general corporate and regulatory matters, including advising on, negotiating and drafting a wide range of commercial arrangements, and advising on corporate governance and regulatory compliance, internal compliance programmes, statutory obligations of company directors and other officers. We also advise on applicable taxes, and employment and industrial relations.
With in-depth knowledge and experience of Laos law and practice. We are well-placed to advise on all areas of law relevant to investing in Laos, and establishing and operating a business in Laos.
CORPORATE MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Our Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions practice comprises directors and lawyers with extensive experience across a broad range of local and cross-border transactions, including share and business acquisitions and disposals, mergers, joint ventures, corporate reorganisations, capital restructurings, privatisations and private equity investments.
With our knowledge and experience of local law, practice and business, we are well-placed to advise and add value to the process of conducting M&A transactions involving Laos. We are able to pre-empt and handle the various issues of increasing specificity and complexity that may invariably arise in cross-border M&A.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & INVESTMENT STRUCTURE
From last five years, we have been advising clients to restructure their corporate governance and investment structures to transform from one man business or State Own Enterprises into proper governance structures as defined in the company law and good industrial practices to prepare them to be ready to cooperate or to complete with regional and international companies in the same sectors, to restructure financial models or refinancing of their investment to have access to finance or project debt financing with regional and international banks and financial institutions and to prepare them to have access to international financial markets or be listed in stock exchange.
ENVIRONMENT GOVERNANCE & INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT
Our directors and lawyers have been actively participated in development and strengthening of policies, strategies and plans related to environmental protection and integrated social and community developments in Laos since 1995. Our Managing Director was engaged as a national consultant to different projects supported UNDP, World Bank, ADB, SIDA, Finland Government on development of environmental protection law, Prime Minister’s Decrees on Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Protection Fund, Resettlement and Compensation for Impacted People from Development Projects.
We have introduced an Agro Tourism Business Initiative, which is an innovative business partnership between the Public -Private and People in the community to make and facilitate investment in development of botanic gardens, nurseries and packing and processing plants in Central and Southern Province of Laos.
LAW REFORM & REGULATORY
Our Law Reform & Regulatory practice is one of the few in Laos with in-depth working knowledge and experience to advise on legislative reforms and regulatory changes, including those relating to land and real estate, banking, concessions, investment, mining, environment protection, international trade and bankruptcy. Our lawyers have regular communications with the relevant authorities, and are actively involved in on-going discussions on policy and legal reforms.
We have been assisting the Laos government, its related agencies and government-owned entities on various policy and legal reform initiatives as well as the translation of legislation from Laos into English.
