Malaysia is the third-largest trade partner of South Korea from Southeast Asia.
As reported by Bernama, South Korea and Malaysia have vowed to join hands to tap deeper into emerging industries, including eco-friendly automobiles and renewable energy and to expand cooperation between the two countries in future growth engines, such as rechargeable batteries and solar energy parts.
In recognising the significant investment and business ventures opportunities between South Korea and Malaysia, we have dedicated a Korea Desk consisting of a team of lawyers with industry know-how and legal experience to focus on liaising with governmental agencies, advising on any legal issues relating to applicable regulatory frameworks, guidelines and policies and providing effective legal services to all South Korea based clients.
Korea Desk Experience
A brief description of some of the transactions that we have been involved in are as follows:
Debt Capital Markets
Our firm has been involved in cross-border bond transactions involving Korean issuers, whereby we have, inter alia, advised the lead arranger in relation to the medium term notes programme of up to RM3.3 billion in nominal value issued by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of Korea and we have advised on multiple Ringgit bonds issued by various Korean banks, including the Industrial Bank of Korea, Hana Bank (which involved a guarantee given by the Korean Government) and Woori Bank. We have also in 2021 advised CIMB Investment Bank Berhad and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad in relation to the ASEAN Green Bonds of up to RM150 million in nominal value issued by Hanwha Q Cells Malaysia, a solar PV manufacturer in Malaysia and wholly owned by Hanwha Solutions Corporation, being the first Ringgit denominated bonds guaranteed by Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility.
Equity Capital Markets
Our firm has advised Malaysia’s Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Berhad (the integrated petrochemical producer, which is part of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group)’s, initial public offering (IPO) of about RM3.77 billion in 2017, in which the IPO was the biggest stock market flotation in Malaysia since 2012.
Energy, Infrastructure & Construction
Our firm has advised Daewoo on its joint venture for the construction of a commercial development in Kuala Lumpur and has advised a Malaysian sponsor on its engineering, procurement, and construction contract (EPCC) with Hyundai for a power plant located in Sudan. In 2021, our firm advised a Malaysian public listed company in relation to its offshore EPCC with a South Korean contractor for a petrochemical complex to be built in Indonesia with a total project value of approximately USD2 billion.
