ALB SE Law Awards 2008 : Malaysian Deal Firm of the Year
In June 2008, the Asian Legal Business held its annual SE Asia Law Awards 2008 in Singapore. Deemed the legal Oscars, and now in its fourth year, the ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2008 recognise the excellence of SE Asia’s leading law firms alongside the top deals and dealmakers of 2007, as well as individual legal professionals for their outstanding contributions over the past year with regard to the efforts that have gone into SE Asia’s best legal work.

Albar & Partners swept  the “Malaysia Deal Firm of the Year” award as being the most outstanding law firm for corporate transactional matters in Malaysia in 2007. ALB said that Albar & Partners was a deal-making powerhouse in 2007, participating in the winning Malakoff Berhad Share Placement as well as a slate of other notable transactions. Our work in Shariah-compliant transactions came in for special mention and ALB acknowledged us as a local market leader in such work.

ALB SE Law Awards 2008 : Asset & Corporate Finance Deal of the Year
At the same ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2008, Albar & Partners also won the “Asset & Corporate Finance Deal of the Year” award for our legal advisory work in the Share Placement corporate exercise in the acquisition and funding project for Malakoff Berhad.

ALB regarded this deal as a historically large and record-setting deal, among the biggest in Malaysian corporate history (worth approx. USD$3.5 billion) and involved a debt/ quasi debt issuance and share placement for the country’s largest independent power producer.

Islamic Finance News 2007 : Best Islamic Deals of the Year
In March 2008, Islamic Finance News held its “Islamic Deals of the Year Awards”, and announced the results of its Deals of the Year Awards 2007 comprising of 31 diverse categories, including Deal of the Year, Sukuk, Best Equity, Cross Border, Structured Finance IPO, most innovative and the best deals by country.

2007 award for “Best Islamic REIT” : Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT
The Islamic Finance News said that as is thematic for 2007, this sector is heating up and they enjoyed REIT for the first time from outside of Malaysia. While the others were real estate investment funds or funds investing in REITs, the only true and new Islamic REIT was Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT. This was an IPO for a legacy plantation group and generates a predictable income for REIT investors by leasing the REIT assets to various users in the palm oil sector.

Albar & Partners advised the Acquiror (which is Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT, acting through CIMB Trustee Berhad as trustee for the Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT) and the Acquiror’s Financial Advisors, collectively : (a) Pacific Alliance Capital Sdn Bhd and (b) Affin Bank Berhad; and Malaysian International Merchant Bankers Berhad as the Principal Adviser.

Bloomberg:  2007 Annual Legal Adviser League Tables
The international media and news corporation, Bloomberg, in its annual Legal Adviser League Tables ranked Albar & Partners as the world's leading no.1 Law Firm for Islamic Bonds Managers Adviser for the period of January 1-December 31, 2007. Bloomberg’s independent research revealed that in 2007 alone, we had advised on deals amounting to 28.8% of the world's market share of Islamic Bonds issued in 2007. The League Tables comprised legal firms from all over the world

Asian Counsel:  January/February 2008 Issue:  “Top Deals of Year 2007”
For the third consecutive year, deals advised by Albar & Partners won top honours with Asian Counsel. The publication named two (2) deals in its January/February 2008 issue as “The Top Deals of Year 2007 in Asia”. They were:-
           
A) Corporate Debt Restructuring of Mycom Berhad and Olympia Industries Berhad
     Corporate Debt Restructuring
      Deal value : US$300 million
      Practice areas : Corporate Debt restructuring

The firms
Albar & Partners (counsel to the domestic lenders); Jeff Leong Poon & Wong (solicitors for Mycom and Olympia group of companies)
This is one of Malaysia’s biggest corporate debt restructuring schemes for the settlement and repayment of the total aggregate indebtedness of Mycom, Olympia and their groups of companies. The restructuring scheme involved conversion of the outstanding loans into shares and various other securities, including the issuance of new ordinary shares, redeemable unsecured loan stocks, irredeemable convertible bonds and irredeemable unsecured to the respective lenders and creditors. 

B) Maxis Communication
     Privatisation
     Deal Value :  US$11.7 billion
     Practice areas : Leveraged Finance Practice/LBO

The Firm
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (legal counsel to the Joint Coordinating Arranger (International)); Chooi & Company (legal counsel to the joint Coordinating Arrangers (Malaysia)); AZB & Partners (legal counsel to the Joint Coordinating Arrangers (India)) Van Eps Kunneman  VanDoorne (legal counsel to the Joint Coordinating Arrangers (Netherlands Antilles));Baker & McKenzie (legal counsel to the Sponsor  (International)); Albar and Partner  (legal counsel to the Sponsor (Malaysia))
           
A ground breaking and sophisticated LBO transaction, with a wide range  of complex issues to tackle including the Malaysian regulatory hurdles such as obtaining Central Bank approval for the financing structure, Foreign Exchange approval and Stock Exchange approval. The deal represents South East Asia’s largest privatization as well as the largest privatization in Malaysian history. Outside Japan, it is one of the largest leveraged buyouts to be completed in Asia, and was a significant milestone in that deal involved no foreign private equity. It is thought that the transaction is likely to serve as a template for future transactions where family-controlled publicly listed companies in Asia become private.

Asialaw : Leading Lawyers 2008
In the 2008 Asialaw Leading Lawyers survey, Asialaw identified one of Albar & Partners’ Senior Partners for Banking & Finance/ Capital Markets, Chung Swee Loong, as one of the most highly recommended Asia-Pacific-focused lawyers in the practice area of Banking.

Over 16,000 in-house legal counsels, senior corporate executives and lawyers participated in the survey and were asked to nominate individual lawyers who, in their experience, excelled in a particular field of legal practice over the past year. Only the top-scoring 1000 lawyers qualified for inclusion in the 2008 Asialaw Leading Lawyers. Chung Swee Loong was identified as one (1) of only four (4) Malaysian leading experts in Banking. Asialaw noted client feedback to the effect that, ‘Mr. Chung is very well versed in banking and finance, very commercially astute and has good grasp on market practice.

IFLR Asia Awards 2008 in Hong Kong *
In March 2008, the International Financial Law Review held its annual Asia Awards 2008 in Hong Kong. The Awards is now in its eleventh year and gathered all of Asia’s leading law firms to present them with an award for their innovation and outstanding work for the past year in the Asian region.
Albar & Partners was shortlisted as a finalist for two IFLR Awards under the categories of “Asian M&A Deal of the Year” for its legal work done in the Maxis Communications LBO and “Asian Restructuring Deal of the Year” for its legal counsel in the restructuring of Mycom Berhad and Olympia Industries Berhad.

ALB Business : ALB Hot 100: The Hot 100: The Hottest Lawyers of 2008 (Issue no. 8.9)
This edition of ALB Business is now in its 5th year and aims to provide an overview of the past year. According to the editorial, the publication went through a wealth of Lawyers from Bangkok to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai to short-list and identify the 100 hottest lawyers whom the publication felt had performed exceptionally in their field, courted controversy or turned heads in the legal arena. Albar & Partner’s Senior Partner for Banking & Finance/Capital Markets, Mr. Chung Swee Loong was identified by ALB Business, as a major player in the ALB SE Asia Law Awards 2008 Malaysia. The ALB Business commented that Mr. Chung Swee Loong was pivotal in seeing through a slate of notable transactions for the firm.

IFLR 1000 : Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law firms (2008-09 edition)
Albar & Partners was recognised as a tier one law firm for Capital Markets in this edition on the back of strong recognition by peers and clients as well as visibility on high profile deals, especially in Islamic Finance. Standout examples included advising the lead arranger, Aseambankers Malaysia, on a RM1.55 billion sukuk musharaka issuance by Lingkaran Trans  Kota (Litrak), the concessionaire of Damansara Puchong Highway.

One of the firm’s most significant deals this year saw it advising numerous parties in the refinancing by Binariang GSM of the RM20 billion syndicated bridging finance for its acquisition of an interest in Malaysia’s largest mobile operator, Maxis Commnunications. This was the year’s largest bond deal in Asia.

Other standout deals for Albar & Partners included the advise given to Khazanah Nasional on its RM3.2 billion sale of shares in RHB Bank, representing a 30% stake in the bank, to RHB Capital.

Also of note was an increase in project finance work: Albar & Partners secured roles advising numerous parties on a variety of projects such as the Islamic financing of the $454 million construction of a container terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The firm also advised on the issuance of RM500 million Islamic MTNs for Air Asia's aircraft purchase programme.

Large-scale corporate debt restructuring, such as for Tenggara Oil, Mycom and Olympia Industries, also provided a steady flow of work for the firm's banking and finance department.

Clients were reported to have said that Albar & Partners is ‘highly competent, very hard working and a pleasure to work with’.

Asialaw Profiles 2009 : A Guide to the World’s Law Firms and Legal Markets
In this edition, the Asialaw Profiles highlighted that Albar & Partners had expanded its corporate/mergers & acquisitions (M&A) practice recently by the appointment of Ms. Seet Hooi Ping and Ms. Junaidah Rahim as partners.

(i) Extract of review under “Banking”
One standout deal highlighted by the publication was the advice given by Albar & Partners to RHB Investment Bank in its syndicated term loan finance of RM380 million for Sunway Holdings. Pursuant to an arrangement made by the joint lead arrangers, a financing arrangement comprised a syndicated term loan facility of up to RM171 million and, by way of a sell down mechanism, a syndicated term loan facility of up to RM360 million were granted.

(ii) Extract of review under “Capital Markets & Corporate Finance”
Other standout deals included the role played by Albar & Partners in the refinancing by Binariang GSM of a RM20 billion syndicated bridging loan granted for the purpose of financing Binariang’s acquisition of shares in Malaysia’s largest mobile operator, Maxis Communications. Albar & Partners advised CIMB Investment Bank and ABN AMRO as the joint principal advisers and acted as domestic counsel to the syndicated lenders of the US Dollar term loan.

(iii) Extract of review under “Mergers & Acquisitions”
Another significant deal saw Albar & Partners representing Khazanah Nasional in its RM3.2 billion sale of 1.17 billion ordinary shares in RHB Bank, which represented 30% of the total issued and paid-up capital of the bank, to RHB Capital. Khazanah (the investment arm of the Government of Malaysia) and RHB Capital entered into a share sale agreement in July 2007 for the sale and purchase of the shares. The acquisition was subject to approvals from the Securities Commission Malaysia, the Ministry of Finance of Malaysia, the Malaysian Foreign Investment Committee and Bursa Malaysia Securities.

(iV) Extract of review under “Private Equity & Venture Capital”
Albar & Partners advised Scomi Group in its divestment of 19.9% of the respective classes of the share capital in Scomi Oilfield, a company incorporated in Bermuda, to Standard Chartered Private Equity, a company incorporated in Hong Kong. Essential to the divestment was the internal restructuring exercise undertaken by Scomi Group on the group of companies held by KMC Oiltools Bermuda. Upon completion of the divestment, Scomi Oilfeild is now the holding company of KMC Oiltools. The deal was a landmark transaction in view of its cross-border nature, which involved multiple jurisdictions and the timely completion of its complex conditions, which was partly due to the reorganisation of the various put and call options that were in place in KMC Oiltools Bermuda that had to be replicated in the holding company Scomi Oilfield upon the divestment.

(V) Extract of review under “Securitisation & Structured Finance”
Albar & Partners acted as advisers to Telekom Malaysia in the issuance of RM1 billion Sukuk Ijarah by Menara, backed by assets originated from Telekom Malaysia. As the originator, Telekom Malaysia sold its non-core commercial building properties to Menara (a special purpose vehicle to undertake the issuance of the Sukuk Ijarah) with an agreement for Menara to leaseback such properties to Telekom Malaysia for a period of 15 years. It was a landmark and innovative transaction as it enabled Telekom Malaysia to monetize its non-core properties and to achieve its objective of removing such properties from its balance sheet. The transaction also created a significant and unique class of Islamic private debt securities that incorporated the features of both a fixed income instrument and an investment in a portfolio of high-quality property assets.

The Asia Pacific Legal 500 : Guide to Asia’s Commercial Law Firms (2008/09    Edition) : “APL 500”*
Out of 10,000 lawyers practising in Malaysia, two of Albar & Partner’s partners were identified by The Asia Pacific Legal 500 as Leading Individuals in this year’s 2008/09 Edition of Asia Pacific Legal 500. Managing Partner, Syed Zaid Albar was named as a Leading Individual in the practice area of Banking & Finance, while Senior Partner for Litigation, Datuk N. Chandran was named as a Leading Individual in Dispute Resolution. In term of rankings, the same publication ranked Albar & Partners as a Tier 1 law firm in the practice areas of Banking & Finance, Islamic Finance and Project & Energy. For the practice area of Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions, Albar & Partners was ranked in Tier 3 and ranked in Tier 4 for Capital Markets and Dispute Resolutions.

(i) Extract of review under “Banking & Finance”
APL 500 regarded Albar & Partners as an ‘impressive’ outfit citing its significant level of cross border work. The past year saw Albar & Partners acting for DBS Bank on a RMB300 million credit facility and advising CIMB Bank on a US$13 million term loan facility. Strongly recommended were Mr. Chung Swee Loong (Senior Partner for Banking & Finance/Capital Markets), Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li (Senior Partner for Corporate/Commercial and Capital Markets) and Mr. Mark Lim Chin Hian (Partner for Banking & Finance) for their groundbreaking work in this sector.

(ii) Extract of review under “Capital Markets”
Other standout work for the past year by Albar & Partners included advising numerous parties in the refinancing by Binariang GSM of a RM20 billion syndicated bridging loan granted for the purpose of financing Binariang's acquisition of shares in Malaysia's largest mobile operator, Maxis Communications.

(iii) Extract of review under “Corporate and M&A”
APL 500 also said that Albar & Partners benefits from a great client base, with clients complimenting that Albar & Partners has ‘highly committed partners, who offer a quick turnaround time’. The APL 500 shortlisted  Ms. Seet Hooi Ping and Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li as highly recommended by clients in this practice area. Notable deals handled by the Corporate team  included  advising CapitaLand, South East Asia’s largest real estate developer, on a complex financing deal. The team also advised on the divestment of share capital in Bermuda based Scomi Oilfield Limited in a deal valued at US$99.5 million.

(iv) Extract of review under “Disputes Resolution”
APL 500 highlighted that Albar & Partners dispute team boasts great practitioners such as Senior Partner Datuk N. Chandran and Senior Partner V. Vijakumar. APL 500 noted that Albar & Partners is very strong in banking and finance disputes and the team had a very good year, advising on a high-profile case involving a dispute over asset management company Danaharta.
(v) Extract of review under “Islamic Finance”
The publication regarded Albar & Partner’s Islamic finance team as being well respected by peers besides ‘being accessible and accommodating’. Our team successfully handled heavyweight work over the past year. Albar & Partners advised some leading names in the finance world, such as Kuwait Finance House and Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, on a RM500 million issuance of Islamic medium-term notes under the shariah principles of Ijarah. Other work that received accolades included advice on a US$453.9 million Islamic project financing in Saudi Arabia.

(vi) Extract of review under “Projects and energy”
APL 500 quoted clients saying that Albar & Partners offers ‘excellent service with a balanced legal and commercial perspective’. Top on the clients’ recommended list were Ms Lily Tan Chea Li (Senior Partner for Corporate/Commercial and Capital Markets) and Ms. Seet Hooi Ping (Partner for Corporate/Commerical). Over the past year, Albar & Partners handled high-quality work, most notably advising City Island Holdings Limited and MMC International Holdings on the US$453.9 million financing of a container terminal of a Port in Saudi Arabia.

Chambers Asia 2009 (2009 Edition)
Chambers Asia ranks the leading law firms and individual lawyers across the Asian region. Its research covers the entire Asian continent as well 20 areas of the law practised within this region. The publication determines its rankings on extensive research on the legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness, diligence, and commitment to the client.

(i) Extract of review under “Banking & Finance”
Albar & Partners was ranked by the publication as a Band 1 Law Firm in the areas of  Banking & Finance, Capital Markets and Islamic Finance. The same publication ranked Albar & Partners’ Senior Partners, Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li and Mr. Chung Swee Loong as Band 1 Lawyers in the said practice areas while Mr. Mark Lim Chin Hian was regarded as an up and coming Lawyer to watch.

The publication noted that Albar & Partners enjoyed the “lion’s share of extremely substantial transactions” for the past year. A busy year, Albar & Partners, acted for CIMB Investment Bank and a consortium of local and foreign banks on the refinancing of Binariang GSM’s MYR20 billion syndicated bridging loan to acquire Maxis Communications.
Chambers Asia quoted clients complimenting Albar & Partners’ success and attributed this to the “real understanding that exists between lawyer and client. ” To quote: “Albar stands out because it offers genuinely commercial solutions to our legal issues.”  Clients went further to praise Albar & Partner’s Senior Partner, Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li whose vast experience in financing on behalf of both lenders and borrowers, enabled her to “fully understand the business, as well as the legal issues surrounding a transaction.”

On the Islamic Finance and Capital Markets front, the publication noted that we advised CIMB Investment Bank as lead arranger on a MYR 11.6 billion Islamic debt and quasi-debt securities programme issued by MMC Corporation. The publication regarded Albar & Partners’ Senior Partner, Mr. Chung Swee Loong as a force in the area of Capital Markets quoting that his asset is his experience. Clients were quoted to have told Chambers Asia that Swee Loong provided “really hands-on service, turning around work extremely quickly.” 
Albar & Partners’ Mr. Mark Lim Chin Hian also received praise from clients as being very “committed and responsive” adding that they “relied on him to brainstorm for novel structures and solutions.” One client even wished that they could clone Mark stating that “we could do with more lawyers like him”.

(ii) Extract of review under “Corporate/M&A”
Chambers Asia ranked Albar & Partners’ Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li and our Corporate/M&A team as Band 2 in the practice area of Corporate/Merger & Acquisitions. The publication described the Corporate/M&A team as “a courteous and effective group of professionals who are always extremely responsive to timelines”. The publication went further to state that we were a team that “knows how its clients work and what they want”. For the past year Albar & Partners handled an enviable array of cross-border matters for companies based in the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Albar & Partners advised Scomi Group on its USD99.5 million divestment of a part of Scomi Oilfield, incorporated in Bermuda, to Hong Kong-based Standard Chartered Private Equity.

The publication noted that Albar & Partners’ client portfolio consisted of government-linked companies and large banks, which include Khazanah Nasional and CIMB Investment Bank. Notable deals included recent advice to Khazanah on its MYR3.2 billion disposal of a 30% stake in RHB Bank to RHB Capital. Top on the clients’ recommended list was Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li - described as a lawyer who is “very much on the ball” and who had the ability to “structure a deal in a way that would achieve all her clients’ goals.” Lily led our corporate team which advised the acquirer and a consortium of financial institutions on the USD138 million purchase of ten palm oil estates and mills around the country for the Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT, an Islamic plantation REIT.

(iii) Extract of review under “Disputes Resolution”
Albar & Partners was ranked in Band 4 in Chambers Asia 2009 with recognition given to our strengths in corporate and banking disputes, where our transactional profile is also strongest. The Litigation team was voted by the publication as a “hard-working litigation team” that “always delivers what its clients want”. The team appeared before the Court of Appeal which held that the appointed receivers and managers of a distressed company that had vested its loan account to Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Berhad, a national asset management company, should be afforded immunity to court proceedings. The litigation team is led by Senior Partners’ Datuk N. Chandran and V. Vijakumar.

Asian Inhouse Handbook (2008-2009 Edition)
The Asian Inhouse Handbook provides essential resource for Asia's in-house counsel and corporate legal communities with thought-provoking analysis and discussion of vital legal, regulatory and business issues, along with news and profiles of leading in-house practitioners.

(i) Extract of review under “Banking & Finance”
In the past year, Albar & Partners’ Banking & Finance practice led by senior partners, Lily Tan Chea Li and Mr. Chung Swee Loong together with partners, Mr. Mark Lim Chin Hian and Mr. Vincent Yap Leng Khim advised DBS Bank Ltd, Labuan Branch, in a cross border SBLC facility of 300 million renminbi granted in favour of YTL Cement Bhd as part of expansion of the YTL group’s operation in China. Albar & Partners also advised RHB Investment Bank Berhad, joint lead arrangers with OCBC  (Bank) Malaysia Berhad, HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad and RHB Bank Berhad, in a complex 380 million ringgit syndicated term loan finance for public listed leading construction and building company Sunway Holdings Berhad.

(ii) Extract of review under “Capital Markets”
Albar & Partners’ capital markets practice group continues to thrive under the guidance of Tuan Syed Zaid Albar, Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li, Mr. Chung Swee Loong and Mr. Mark Lim Chin Hian. One of the deals saw the firm advising Telekom Malaysia ™ Bhd in a 1 billion ringgit Sukuk Ijarah issuance by Menara ABS Bhd., backed by assets originated from TM. Albar & Partners also advised Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd and Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd., as the joint lead arrangers, in a bank guaranteed 500 million ringgit Islamic issuance of medium term notes under the Shariah principle of Ijarah by Aras Sejagat Sdn. Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of AirAsia Bhd (Malaysia’s leading low cost carrier provider).

(iii) Extract of review under “Corporate and M&A”
Albar & Partners headed by Managing Partner, Tuan Syed Zaid Albar and assisted by senior partner Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li welcomed the addition of two new partners, Ms. Seet Hooi Ping and Ms. Junaidah Abdul Rahim in 2007. The Corporate team advised MMC Corporation Bhd (MMC) and its subsidiary (MMCIH International Holdings Ltd) in a cross border transaction that formed part of MMC’s international expansion strategies to the Middle East and was valued at approximately 540 million Saudi riyals. Another notable deal saw Albar & Partners advising Khazanah Nasional Bhd in the RM3.2 billion sale of 30 percent share capital of RHB Bank Bhd to RHB Capital Bhd.

(iv Extract  of review under “Employment”
Albar & Partners litigation team led by senior partners Datuk N. Chandran and Mr. V. Vijakumar together with partner, Mr. Koh Yew Chong handles the area of employment pratice.  The firm covers the area of industrial relations, employment law advisory as well court work. The team advises on collective agreements, voluntary separation schemes, dismissals, unlawful termination and retrenchment disputes and trade union matters.

(v) Extract of review under “Dispute resolution/litigation”
The publication highlighted that Albar & Partners’ litigation team, consisting of specialist litigators, had advised the country’s leading financial institutions on debt recovery, restructuring and regulatory compliance over the past year. Recently, Albar & Partners’ senior partner, Mr. V. Vijakumar appeared as  lead counsel for the receivers and managers in the case of Dato’ Seri Dr. Kok Mew Soon, a landmark case concerning the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Courts to grant an injunction order against the receivers and managers appointed by Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd (the national asset management company established under the Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Act 1998 as a result of the 1997 Asian financial crisis).

(vi) Extract of review under “Projects and project financing”
Albar & Partners’ dynamic project finance team was involved in several notable deals during the past year. Albar & Partners acted as the Malaysian Counsel and advised MMCIH International Holdings Ltd and City Island Holdings Ltd on their respective participation and obligations as shareholders of Red Sea Gateway Terminal Ltd with regard to a US$453.93 million Islamic project finance for the development of the third container terminal project at the Jeddah Islamic Port. It also advised CIMB Investment Bank Bhd and ABN Amro Bank Bhd, and acted as domestic counsel to the syndicated lenders of the US dollar term loan in a refinancing exercise by Binariang GSM Sdn. Bhd. of 20 billion ringgit in relation to its acquisition of Maxis Communications Bhd.

(vii) Extract of review under “Restructuring and insolvency”
Albar & Partners restructuring team, led by Mr. Chung Swee Loong advised in the landmark corporate debt restructuring of Mycom Bhd and Olympia Industries Bhd’s group of companies, valued at nearly 1 billion ringgit, which involved amongst others, conversion of the outstanding loans into shares and various other securities, including the issuance by Mycom and Olympia of new ordinary shares, redeemable unsecured loans stocks to the respective lenders/creditors. Another deal saw Albar & Partners’ senior lawyer Ms. Lily Tan Chea Li advising in the structuring and formulating a comprehensive regularisation plan to be undertaken by Tenggara Oil Bhd.

(viii) Extract of review under “Shipping”
Albar & Partners’ banking and finance team, led by partner Mark Lim Chin Hian recently advised Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Bhd in a cross border shipping finance facility of US$23 million granted to Marsol Shin Yang LLC under the Shariah principle of al-Ijarah for the purpose of part-financing the acquisition of 12 vessels. The security provided included statutory ship mortgages, corporate guarantees issued by Marsol’s counterparts in the UAE and personal guarantees issued by Marsol’s resident directors in the UAE. In another transaction, the firm advised Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd, Labuan Branch, in a cross border Japanese Yen shipping finance facility in the sum of ¥1,666,996,500 granted to Al Ghaith Shin Yang LLC to part-finance the acquisition of 12 vessels.