Event
Description
Energy and natural resources are playing an increasingly central role in Asian economic development. The importance of energy strategy and the limited supply of resources result in significant difficulties for would-be investors in Asia in acquiring a stake in the global energy market. The panel will explore the issues, challenges, potential strategies, and future directions in conducting such investments from legal, financial and policy perspectives.
Speakers
John AmorosiPartner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLPJohn Amorosi is a Mergers & Acquisitions partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Examples of transactions on which he has worked include representing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the US Treasury on several transactions related to AIG (including transactions involving its largest Asian subsidiaries, AIA and ALICO), CNOOC on its attempted $18.5 billion acquisition of Unocal and Morgan Stanley on its pending Japanese investment banking joint venture with Mitsubishi UFJ Group. The New York Times listed Mr. Amorosi in October 2007 as one of the leading dealmakers on Wall Street under 40 years of age (a claim that he can no longer make—for at least one reason).
David BlumentalPartner, Vinson & ElkinsDavid is the managing partner of Vinson & Elkins’ Shanghai office and one of the heads of the Firm’s Greater China Practice Group. His principal areas of practice are cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures as well as corporate transactions, project finance and development, oil and gas and other energy transactions. He has advised clients across a broad range of industries, including energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, real estate, retail sales and distribution of consumer goods and other products. In 2009, David co-led the V&E team that represented Sinopec International in its C$10.3 billion acquisition of Addax Petroleum Corporation, China’s largest cross-border acquisition to date. He is a regular speaker and author on China outbound investment issues, and is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s China M&A Advisory Group. David is listed in AsiaLaw’s Leading Lawyers 2008 and 2009 as one of the most highly-acclaimed legal experts in the M&A field, as well as Euromoney’s Guide to the World’s Leading Energy Lawyers 2009.
Geraint HughesPartner, Clifford ChanceGeraint Hughes is a partner at Clifford Chance and is the head of the firm's Energy & Infrastructure team in Asia. Mr. Hughes has been based in the region for most of the last 17 years. His focus includes advising clients on major PRC outbound and inbound deals within the Energy & Infrastructure sector. In the past 18 months, Mr. Hughes and his team have advised on the following Energy & Infrastructure sector deals: the largest inbound gas purchase to date by PRC entities; the largest inbound oil purchase to date by PRC entities; the largest outbound project financing to date by PRC entities; the largest potential outbound takeover to date by PRC entities; and the largest inbound investment to date into the PRC.
Bijesh ThakkerManaging Partner, Thakker & ThakkerBijesh Thakker is the Founder and Managing Partner of Thakker & Thakker, a full-service Indian law firm with a clientele of over 700 multinationals. Mr. Thakker is a qualified Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and the Bombay Incorporated Law Society. He has been practicing international law since 1985 and specializes in Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Venture; Foreign Investment; and Energy and Natural Resources. He has assisted several multinational corporations including several Fortune 500 companies on Mergers, Acquisitions & Joint Venture transactions in India. Mr. Thakker’s clients include, DHL, SHV Gas/Calor, Qualcomm, Ensco, Sony Corporation, Goldman Sachs, BHP Petroleum, Harry Winston, United Biscuits, Telenor ASA, Carl Zeiss AG, Dow Jones, Louis Vuitton, Hewlett-Packard, CapGemini, Cisco Systems and Société Générale Asset Management, amongst others. Mr. Thakker is ranked amongst India’s leading individuals for Corporate/M&A by Asia Legal 500, Who’s Who Legal, Chambers Asia and PLC which lawyer?.
Jonathan ZhouPartner, Fangda PartnersMr. Jonathan Zhou has extensive experience in the corporate finance area, including M&A, private equity and capital markets. He has advised dozens of acquisitions of listed and unlisted companies by multinational strategic and financial investors. In recent years, he has represented TPG, Carlyle, Goldman PIA, Bain Capital and Morgan Stanley in many high profile China deals. Since 2000, Mr. Zhou has been consecutively named a leading individual in the areas of corporate finance, M&A, private equity and capital markets by Chambers and Partners, International Financial Law Review and other professional publications. He is a frequent writer for international professional journals and a speaker at international conferences, covering topics on capital markets, private equity investment, M&A and foreign direct investment in China.
Alex Yong Hao (Moderator)Associate, Vinson & ElkinsAlex represents banks, companies, private equity funds, hedge funds, MLPs, development agencies and insurance companies, in their capacities as borrowers, lenders, agents, sponsors, lessors, lessees and credit enhancers, in connection with syndicated finance, acquisition finance, project finance, subscription line finance, asset-based finance, equipment finance and debt restructuring transactions. He has experience in a wide array of sectors, including oil and gas (including LNG, gas storage and pipeline), electricity generation and transmission, alternative fuels and renewables, telecom, aircraft, rolling stock, insurance, textile, and media. Alex is a member of V&E's Energy practice group, Project Finance and Development practice group, Syndicated Finance practice group and China practice group. He is also a member of V&E's Associate Advisory Committee and China Antitrust Steering Committee. He is a founding director of the Chinese Business Lawyers Association, Inc., the first worldwide association of U.S.-qualified lawyers interested in China.
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