Representative Experience in Asia

The team's representative experience in this region includes acting for insolvency practitioners, banks, alternative credit providers and corporate trustees on matters including:

ENGLISH SCHEME TO RESTRUCTURE VIETNAMESE DEBT

  • Vinashin – Acting for Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) as domestic and international legal counsel in a three-year, cross-border matter advising on restructuring strategies for Vinashin's foreign and domestic debt, notably involving an English scheme of arrangement to exchange a USD syndicated loan for USD Fixed Rate Guaranteed Notes issued by the Vietnamese Debt and Asset Trading Corporation and listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The scheme of arrangement is the first time that an English court has exercised its discretion to grant a "US Chapter 11-style" stay of legal proceedings to enable a scheme of arrangement to be promulgated and opens up the use of the English Courts and English law as an alternative to a US Chapter 11 proceeding.

CROSS BORDER

  • Lehman Brothers liquidations – advising the liquidators of nine of the Asianbased Lehman Brothers group entities in liquidation on all aspects of their administration and failed brokerage arrangements, including the recovery of assets; adjudication of proprietary and unsecured claims into the estates; crossborder asset recoveries; and court processes to resolve key issues affecting the liquidators' ability to determine and distribute assets. The work involves significant collaboration with our US, German and London offices in relation to the adjudication and composition of claims by and against the Hong Kong estates, including litigation processes and leading cross-border settlement in the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. This is, by far, the largest Asian insolvency in history.
  • Nortel – Acting for the senior management of certain Nortel Networks entities in China and the Nortel Monitor (Ernst & Young Inc.) in relation to the sale of the businesses of its joint venture companies and the liquidation of these companies as well as its wholly foreign-owned enterprise in China for the recovery of substantial investments in, and their remittance out of, China.

CORPORATE TRUSTEE AND BONDHOLDER

  • LDK Solar – Acting for The Bank of New York Mellon as trustee of certain RMBdenominated US$-settled and certain convertible notes issued by LDK Solar Co., Ltd. (in Provisional Liquidation) (LDK) in respect of the inter-conditional schemes of arrangement promulgated by LDK and its affiliates under the laws of the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong, as part of a global restructuring plan that also involved a US Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization and filings under Chapter 15 for recognition and enforcement of the Cayman Islands scheme.
  • Bio-Treat – A committee of bondholders in relation to default obligations owed to them by Singapore listed Bio-Treat Technology Limited (Bio-Treat), involving the negotiated restructuring of Bio-Treat convertible bonds and settlement of issues in dispute between Bio-Treat and bondholders arising from Bio-Treat's default.

SHIPPING

  • TMT – Acting with our American offices for Taiwanese ship finance bilateral and syndicated lenders in relation to over US$400 million in loans secured over vessels. This high-profile engagement involved complex issues including addressing conflicts of law and jurisdiction consequent on the successful filing by TMT for Chapter 11 US Bankruptcy Code protection of overseas incorporated vessel owning companies. The vessels include ships that have been under arrest in the PRC, Singapore, South Africa and Malta and the Chapter 11 automatic stay purported to prevent further enforcement.
  • Sanko – We advised the facility agents of four separate syndicated loans extended to Sanko Steamship Co Ltd, involving a total of nine vessels; and a significant portion of the foreign creditors who held security over ships owned by Sanko. Sanko filed for bankruptcy protection in Tokyo and for Chapter 15 recognition in the US.

RECEIVERS

  • Bank Century – Acting for the joint and several receivers appointed by the Hong Kong Secretary for Justice over securities, cash and other investment products following the failure and subsequent government bail-out of the Indonesian bank, Bank Century. The receivers' appointment arose as a consequence of the Indonesian government's investigations into, and the prosecution of, the individuals responsible for founding the bank.
  • Ace Style – Acting for multi-bank group creditors in connection with the appointment of receivers to, and subsequent receivership sale of, a substantial apparel manufacturer based in Hong Kong with operations in the PRC and the Philippines.

PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION RESTRUCTURINGS

  • Acting for the provisional liquidators on all matters arising in connection with the administration of various Hong Kong-listed companies, such as 3D-Gold, URight, Kith and Z-Obee, including with respect to proposed resumptions of trading in their shares and schemes of arrangement in multiple jurisdictions.

DEBT RESTRUCTURINGS

  • Canadoil – We are acting for Standard Chartered Bank (Thailand) in the courtsupervised business reorganisation of Canadoil Pipe and Canadoil Asia, subsidiaries of Canadoil Group, a manufacturer and supplier of piping and fittings for use in heavy industry (including oil and gas, power and mining). The reorganisation involves total debt in excess of US$1 billion.

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