2011 | World Finance

All hands on deck

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

A provider of world class international shipping and transportation services, Qatar Navigation was named Best GCC Cargo Shipping Company 2010 as part of the World Finance GCC Trade & Industry Awards Programme for this year. When the firm was founded in 1957, the Qatari economy was in urgent need of an organisation that would cater to its growing shipping and transportation requirements. Originally, it focused solely on marine transport, shipping and travel agencies, but has grown its range of business operations considerably over the past 53 years. As well as these three original areas of operations, it now also works in offshore support services, port services, ship repair and fabrication, logistic services, commercial activities and real estate.

As such a key player in many aspects of the national economy, health, safety and environmental considerations are of the utmost importance to Qatar Navigation. It is fully certified by Lloyds Register for work at all of its fleet of ships and floating docks. It is also ISO 9001:2008 certified and has been for the past seven years. In addition to this, the company has developed its own internal safety management systems, which ensure staff are fully trained in the use of protective clothing and equipment. The corporation also carries out continuous quality assessments and uses this data to maintain its leading position in the market.

While the recession did reduce freight volumes and prices, the company was still able to achieve strong results due to its diversified activities and strategic investments. In fact, rather than seeing the downturn as a challenge, Qatar Navigation took it as an opportunity instead. One of the most important developments in the company’s history – the successful acquisition of Qatar Shipping Company (Q Ship) – took place during this difficult period, in April 2010. This has created a major new regional shipping and transportation force, with interests in a number of different market segments. Q Ship brings with it five tankers, eight harbour tugs and two LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) carriers, enlarging group shareholding interest in a total of nine LNG (liquefied natural gas) tankers and four large 82,000cbm LPG carriers. Through its subsidiary Halul Offshore Services Company, the organisation now also owns a total of 32 offshore support vessels, and one dry cargo vessel in the fleet, the 2009-built, 57,000dwt bulk carrier, Qatar Spirit.

In order to facilitate continued growth, the organisation has hired external consultants to assist with the management of its long-term strategy. They have been charged with evaluating and assessing existing and potential business segments with an eye to carrying out any restructuring, as well as overseeing the continued integration of Q Ship into Qatar Navigation. It is a three-pronged project: study all the businesses and, based on core competencies and market analysis, identify which businesses to grow, and which to possibly divest from; study all the internal departments and processes; and develop a strategy and organisation structure for the company. The project commenced in September 2010 and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2011.

There have been a lot of other changes and improvements recently. The company completed construction of the 52-storey Navigation Tower building, which was to house its management operations. However, as it was able to find one tenant to rent the whole tower, it was decided that it would make better business sense for Qatar Navigation to rent the whole building to this one tenant and move into the Al Jazeera Tower in West Bay itself, which it did in September. The firm has also invested in new IT systems and software, created new departments and hired additional staff. This final element – personnel – is a vital component of the organisation’s continued growth and success; indeed, as with many companies of its size, its people are its biggest asset. As such, finding well-qualified staff is a key goal on an on-going basis. Fortunately, Qatar is a hotbed of talent when it comes to entrepreneurs and top-level management and all members of the Board of Directors are well known and talented local businessmen. Their experience in the Qatari markets, the logistics and transport business and their knowledge is invaluable in driving forward the business. Additionally, this expertise has been drawn upon by Lloyds Register and the American Bureau of Shipping, with the firm actively participating in their technical advisory committees.

The continuous evolution and development of the company is extremely important for its continued success. As such, it has a number of major projects currently on the table that are at different stages of the planning process.

Once they have come to fruition, they will increase the firm’s market share and strengthen its position as a major player in the local and regional markets.

Outside of Qatar Navigation’s own investments, there is another major project that, when it is completed, will provide a major opportunity for the business. Construction of New Doha Port is due to commence in Q1 2011 and is scheduled for completion in 2023. This development is vital for the sustainable growth of the local economy and will transform Qatar into a major transit hub. It is envisaged that this port will act as a gateway for export products manufactured in the Special Economic Zone. This area is next to the site of the new port and was itself developed specifically to be a location for export-oriented industry. The company will seek to gain mutual benefits from involvement in the completed port by bringing its knowledge and experience in cargo handling and port management services to the table. The firm has been carrying out cargo handling services in Mesaeed Port and the existing port at Doha for over 15 years and its expertise in the area is second to none. The new port is designed to meet Qatar’s requirements for the foreseeable future and will attract major liner operators to start calling at Doha directly. This means that the port will become a major hub, which, in itself, represents a great opportunity for the expansion of Qatar Navigation’s logistics and feedering services too.

While the increased openness of the Qatari economy and the unprecedented economic boom in the country have brought tremendous benefits to Qatar Navigation, there have been challenges as well. Increased prosperity and a greater amount of freedom in the market have led to more international companies establishing a presence in Qatar. This has brought with it increased competition, but where Qatar Navigation excels is in offering a unique, knowledgeable, established and reliable service. By the effective use of these skills, it has succeeded in maintaining a good market share in all of its activities, as well as facilitating the continuous expansion of its activities through the introduction of new services and products.

The firm can only see competition increasing in the future as an inevitable outcome of a growing economy – however it is a welcome challenge. Through continuous investment in its staff, levels of quality and health and safety, as well as technology systems, it has anchored itself firmly in the centre of the shipping and export industry. There are many opportunities on the horizon for Qatar Navigation and, through strong strategic alliances and with the continued support of the Qatari government, this newly award-winning firm will continue to pursue success.

Walmex bullish in operations merger

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

One thing that hasn’t changed though is Walmex’s rapid growth and impressive financials as it continues to spice up the retail market in Central America. The challenge for Scot now, is to keep this Latin American retailing success story on track.

In a country famous for its chilli peppers, it is only fitting that giant Latin American retailer Walmart de Mexico – or Walmex – has been hot on the acquisition trail. In the twelve months to April 2010, Walmex was doing some shopping of its own, acquiring 519 retail stores spread across Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, right through Central America. The stores were bought for an estimated $2.6bn – part shares, part cash – from Walmex’s US parent Walmart Stores, which has a 31 percent stake in the Mexican Stock Exchange quoted company.

The 519 Walmart Centroamerica stores added to Walmex’s existing portfolio of over 1,400 store and restaurant outlets, operating under a number of brands, including Walmart, Bodega Aurrera, Superama and Suburbia. It makes the company, now named Walmart de México and Centroamérica, which traces its origins back to the Aurrera stores founded in the late 1950s (subsequently named Cifra, and then Walmex), and is headed up CEO, Scot Rank, one of the largest employers in the region, and the largest private sector employer in Mexico.

Integration and differentiation
So what was the rationale behind the Centroamerica deal? “We have a long history of continuous profitable growth and we acquired Walmart Central America because we were convinced that there were important profitable growth opportunities in the region, and that we could drive synergies and improve Central America operations, an in this way we could thus drive incremental value for all our shareholders,” says Rank.

“It is worth noting that we have very similar customers across the two regions and that makes it easier to ensure you are giving value to those two customer segments. And then there are important similarities between the Mexico and Central America operations. The company we bought is a multi-format company, a leader in its market, with a strong management team, and one that operates with negative working capital requirements.

Basically, we bought an attractive asset, that we believe can be improved, and that has significant profitable growth opportunities.

“It is also important to emphasise the opportunities that are there for the interchange of best practice between the two different regions as we integrate the countries. There is a lot of learning around small formats, for example, which we are bringing to Mexico from Central America, helping us improve the quality of our small format business. So the integration is not just all about the challenges of standardising operating procedures, making sure that people have the same focus and the same outlook towards the business, and so on.”

As Rank points out, the numbers following the acquisition suggest that the integration is going well to date and appear to justify management’s decision to do the deal. Take the results for the first nine months of the year, for example, which were impressive and no doubt made appealing reading to investors. Total income was up by 6.1 percent, gross margin was up by 7.4 percent, and up by 22.2 percent from 21.9 percent year on year. General expenses were a fairly restrained 4.4 percent, against the 6.1 percent increase in sales. As a result, EBITDA for the first nine months of the year grew 17.2 percent. Thus the story of the integration so far, says Rank, has been one of continued improvement.

Making sure that the integration of retail operations in Mexico and Central America is a long term success means that Walmex must ensure it differentiates its value proposition and retail offerings from its competitors, while at the same time continuing to meet the needs of its customers across a number of countries. So far, Walmex appears to have doing a good job meeting this tough challenge.

“Our knowledge of the customer and passion for constantly improving our value proposition is a differentiating factor,” says Rank. “For example, if you look at our multiformat approach, both Mexico and Central America are similar in the sense that they have diverse populations with different income levels. It’s income level that differentiates most customer behaviour. So we have a multiformat strategy that allows us to segment the market with sufficiently different and strong formats that target different income levels, different sizes of population, or different purchasing occasions. In other words, we have clear and differentiated strategies for the different formats.”

Rank also highlights a number of other areas where he believes Walmart de Mexico and Centroamérica is outmanoeuvring its competitors, differentiating its market offering, and at the same time still meeting customers needs, not least in terms of providing value.

“Take price leadership,” he says. “We have been aggressively and consistently lowering prices. During the year we have increased our price gap versus our competitors, and we continue to grow sales at a faster rate than the rest of the market. Or look at the choice available to customers, through focusing on providing assortment and unique products in all of our different formats. A good example is Walmart Supercenter where we have prepared with a very good assortment for different purchasing occasions related to the Christmas season including at-home entertaining, travel, cold weather, decoration, gifts, Christmas trees and nochebuenas, and festive season dinners.”
Several other factors are also key, says Rank. The organisation is continually searching for ways to evolve and adapt its formats so that it can keep up with the customers’ changing needs. It is also important to deliver a consistent value proposition and strategy throughout the country and across territories and formats. And the store format needs to be kept fresh and updated, maintaining the level of shopping experience, which means an ongoing programme of store refurbishment, indeed store remodelling was up 21 percent in 2010 on the previous year.

Good housekeeping
Detailed attention to the customer value proposition is essential. But it has to be backed up with sound financial management, especially in a business operating on the scale that Walmex is. Rank is quick to stress the company’s solid financial position.

“We have a strong balance sheet with no debt, as of September 2010 our cash position amounted to $15.3bn pesos, that’s equivalent to $1.2bn dollars. That cash is generated from our operations, it is based on good close management of inventories to make sure we have negative networking capital, good management of our accounts payables, being very careful to make sure our investments have the highest possible return – all of our new business have higher returns than our base business – and an every day focus on not making decisions that are bad for the financial results of the company,” says Rank.

“And that cash our business is continuously generating allows us to have an aggressive pricing strategy, and to invest in new stores, remodel existing ones, invest in distribution, pay dividends and buy back shares – all at the same time. And we will continue investing because we are confident on the medium and long term prospects for the region.”

The recent growth figures underpin Rank’s bullish view. Installed capacity increased by 12 percent in self-service formats in Mexico, 11 percent for total Mexico and 3.5 percent in Central America. A new distribution centre opened in Villahermosa, Tabasco, and an existing distribution centre in Mexico City was automated. Store refitting was up 21 percent. The company made an investment in 2010 to September of some $2.3bn pesos in buying back shares. The price differential between Walmex and the competition increased. And, on top of all this, Walmex paid a dividend of $5.7bn pesos, as part of its policy to pay 35 percent of the previous year’s earnings.

Delivering year-on-year sales growth and robust financials to date in 2010 is impressive given the difficult economic climate that Walmex has been operating in. It is true that while Mexico’s economy contracted by 6.5 percent in 2009 during its deepest recession in many years, there has been a stronger than expected rebound of the economy in 2010, and this encouraging bounce back has, no doubt, helped to support Walmex’s business. However, there is more than a recovering economy behind Walmex’s growth story.

“It is partly some of things I have mentioned already – focusing on the customer, a relentless search to improve our value proposition, price sensitivity, especially given that our customers now have less money to spend and are a lot more price-conscious,” says Rank. “Our Every Day Low Prices strategy, based on having the lowest cost structure in the market, allows us to consistently lower prices. We compare prices every week, store by store and against the most relevant competitors. As a result, our price gap versus our competitors, as measured using AC Nielsen data, increased in 2010 compared to last year.”

It is an approach that has been well received by Walmex’s customers, as evidenced by sales that continue to grow at a faster rate than the market, both at comparable stores and for total stores. That’s on top of strong growth in 2009. So for the first nine months of the year comparable store sales for self-service formats grew by 2.9 percent, more than double the rate of growth of the industry as measured by Asociacion Nacional de Tiendas de Autoservicio y Departamentales (ANTAD – National Association of Supermarkets and Department Stores), which increased by 1.2 percent, excluding Walmex. And in terms of total stores, self-service formats in Mexico grew by 9.9 percent, which compares very favourably with the 5.8 percent growth of ANTAD members, excluding Walmex.

Looking to the future
With many successful organisations, one of their biggest challenges is maintaining that success over the long term. The same is true for Walmex. So far the business has managed to combine rapid growth and investment, with increasing return on investment at the same time. That’s not easy, and continuing to provide financial results that satisfy the investors may well be a tough task.

Inevitably, there will be a focus on continuing to excel at things that the business already does well. The focus on the results is aided, for example, by an approach that encourages the store associates to link their everyday actions to the broader business performance. Each store is measured against a business plan, and the company pays a cash bonus depending on whether certain targets are met or results exceeded. Then, on a weekly basis, the performance against the business plan is shared with all associates, as well as explaining exactly what needs to be done not only to meet that business plan, but to outperform it. Stock options aslo helps to increase the employees’ focus on and commitment to long term success.

The search for synergies between the Mexico and Central America operation will continue. At the moment the organisation is working on improvements in a number of areas including procurement, assortment, the value proposition of different formats, inventory efficiencies, logistics, and other areas of operations best practice.
Rank has some very clear ideas, though, about how the organisation will keep on improving its performance, where Walmart in Mexico and Central America goes from here, and what the future looks like.

To start with, he notes, there are opportunities to grow off of the existing base business, and to leverage the company’s leadership position and even extend its lead in the marketplace.

“We can leverage the advantage we have versus the rest of the market, we have a great financial position, we are investing more than other companies in the market, have been doing so over the last twelve months, and will continue to do so moving forward. We have a cost advantage with the lowest operating costs in the market. And then there are the multiple formats which allow us to grow more quickly than some of our competitors. So just growing the base business, by leveraging the advantage that we have versus the rest of the market, is key,” says Rank.

“Also we have comparatively low retail penetration at the moment. In Mexico, for example, in an estimated $241bn dollars market, 60 percent of that it represented by the informal market – so that’s a large part of the retail market here. As a formal retailer we have an opportunity to take market share from the informal retailers.”

The retail market in the region will also be growing substantially over the next decade, points out Rank.

There is a demographic bonus for Walmex. With a comparatively young population in Mexico and Central America, as that population ages over the next 15 years, it will bring an additional 25 million new customers into the market. So the demographics are very positive.

And it is worth remembering, notes Rank, that after the latest acquisitions Walmex is an international company trading in six countries, and every one of those countries offers strong growth potential.

“So, for example, there are still a lot of cities where we don’t have a presence. Today we operate in about 380 cities across the six countries, but in addition to that there are 300 towns and cities that we have identified where we could introduce at least one of our formats over the next few years. So that’s 300 cities where we can expand our operations as well,” says Rank.

“The future is about making the most of a combination of opportunities: the opportunity to grow the base business in cities where we are already operating, currently; and also the opportunity to take advantage of a retail market that will continue to grow substantially over the next ten to fifteen years.”

It sounds as if there are still exciting things in store for Walmex and its investors.

New Europe, new energy

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

RFV Plc is one of the most exciting young Central European companies in a dynamic and developing energy sector. The company was established in 2000 by two Hungarian private investors, Csaba Soós and József Makra, as an energy service company. During its 10 years of operation the firm has evolved from a small enterprise into a regional company which finances and executes projects in the range of tens of millions of euros. The management are developing RFV into one of Central Europe’s leading alternative energy suppliers.

Since its foundation, RFV has been focusing on projects to reduce the energy consumption of its customers, resulting in lower expenditures and emissions. Although the company has several experimental projects in the energy sector, its current focus is district heat supply. RFV is modernising outdated and inefficient district heating systems and services as well as providing heat supply on the reconstructed system. Clients include municipalities, public institutions, industrial customers as well as households.

In most East and Central European countries public institutions and municipalities use obsolete and inefficient energy systems, which means a comprehensive upgrade to the latest technology will result in significant energy and cost savings. This encourages larger scale investments and provides excellent returns to investors. RFV’s goal is to play a pioneering role and become a regional market leader by applying world-class technologies and introducing alternative energy systems whenever possible.

“We were easily able to achieve 30 percent energy efficiency improvements in Hungary’s public institutional system during recent years,” says chairman Csaba Soós, adding that other countries in Central and Eastern Europe offer possibilities for even higher efficiency savings and thus a better return on investment.

Genuine sustainability
RFV always adopts a sustainable approach for locally applied energy solutions; the company’s sustainable ethos plays a key role in defining corporate vision and business objectives. The technologies used and RFV’s growth and operational excellence can be steadily maintained only by a sustainable business philosophy with an ongoing interaction with all stakeholders. The company believes that energy solutions must be provided by using an optimal energy mix: the right combination of fossil and renewable energy sources. Renewable and sustainable primary energy sources have been playing an ever growing importance in the company’s investments, whereas leveraging local biomass bases has often been a preferred and feasible option. RFV applies cutting-edge technologies for its modernisation projects, and after completion its long-term energy service contracts ensure a safe supply of energy for clients and an excellent return for investors.

Besides fossil fuel RFV is investigating alternative energy sources and considers biogas, biomass and geothermal energy as having heat services potential in specific regions of Central and Eastern Europe.

In order to maintain sustainable development and the ability to deal with technical, human and financial challenges, the company needs to continuously adapt to changes. Throughout 2010, several young and dynamic leaders have joined the company, who are not only able to keep up with the fast development of the enterprise, but have become the engine of continuous growth. As CEO Ákos Kassai defined the criteria of selecting manpower, “We understand that exceptional people make an exceptional company. In our selection process we rather focus on the personality of the candidates and often make some concession regarding the directional work experience.”

Such different approaches are represented in other corporate decisions as well. While most enterprises reacted to the long-lasting economic crisis by reducing their costs and investments, RFV chose a different path. In 2009 it strengthened its capital base, expanded its range of financing and undertook several large-scale heating modernisation projects, as well as extended its existing investment agreements. The company’s unusual approaches seem to have borne fruit, because by 2009 the company’s group-level revenues increased by 208.8 percent, with EBITDA increasing by 250 percent, and after-tax profit by 281.3 percent.

“Our strategy is to play a keystone role in the alternative energy business,” says Mr Kassai, “linking customers’ needs with locally available energy resources and best suiting technologies. This keystone strategy and transparency as the core of our corporate culture provide us long term competitive advantage to achieve sustainable growth even in time of economic crisis.” Constant renewal, innovation, technical excellence coupled with fast decisions and a unique corporate culture set a new growth path for the company, Mr Soós adds.

RFV has long used the capital market and bank funds to finance its investments. The company had an IPO in 2007 and SPO in 2009 amid the world crisis. In 2010, the growing number and size of projects necessitated a further increase in the number of banks financing the company. In order to make RFV’s liquidity easier to plan, as well as to significantly accelerate the planning and implementation processes for new projects, the company also started a bond programme. The bonds recently issued very successfully by the company are traded on the stock exchange and became a benchmark for its kind through Central Europe. There has not been a corporate bond program of this type on the Hungarian market in 16 years, so RFV again played a pioneering role in this field. The bond programme provides additional flexibility for the financing of RFV’s Romanian heating and district heating supply projects, as well as further diversifying funding sources. RFV’s contracts include long-term operation and maintenance as well, in addition to the modernisation of district heating systems.

On its way to emerging into a leading regional alternative energy company, RFV has recently won contracts for district heating development projects in three Romanian cities –Gheorgheni, Zalau and Tirgu Mures – and has a good chance to win contracts for other Romanian towns as well in future tender processes. But the young Hungarian company thinks even bigger. It considers Romania only a first step in its international map of expansion and plans to enter two more countries in the region in the next three years and then to enter a new market every 12-18 months.

Legal Awards 2011

Posted on January 5, 2011August 8, 2019 by Ashton Wenborn

ARGENTINA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Marval O’Farrell & Mairal

Best M&A Firm
Marval O’Farrell & Mairal

Best Tax Firm
Alfaro-Abogados

Best Tax Consultant
Hernán Verly, Alfaro-Abogados

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Marval O’Farrell & Mairal

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Estudio Alegria, Buey Fernández, Fissore & Montemerlo

Best Real Estate Firm
Estudio Trevisán Abogados

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Clarke, Modet & Co

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Fortunati & Asociados 

Best Energy Firm
Estudio Ymaz Abogados 

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Llerena & Asociados Abogados

Best Employment Firm
Abeledo Gottheil Abogados

Best Individual Lawyer
Juan P Duggan, Hope, Duggan & Silva

Best Shipping Firm
Abeledo Gottheil Abogados

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
JP O’Farrell Abogados

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Diaz Bobillo, Richard & Sigwald Abogados 

AUSTRALIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Gadens Lawyers

Best M&A Firm
Clayton UTZ

Best Tax Firm
Thomson Playford Cutlers

Best Tax Consultant
Rod Campbell, Alderson Campbell

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Alderson Campbell

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Minter Ellison

Best Real Estate Firm
Jones Day

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Freehills

Best Energy Firm
Blake Dawson

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Gadens Lawyers

Best Employment Firm
Thomson Playford Cutlers

Best Individual Lawyer
Steven W Fleming, Jones Day

Best Shipping Firm
Holman Fenwick Willan

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Piper Alderman

AUSTRIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
BMA Brandstätter Rechtsanwälte GmbH

Best M&A Firm
DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach

Best Tax Firm
Sladek & Meyenburg

Best Tax Consultant
Werner Minihold, Saxinger, Chalupsky & Partners Rechtsanwaelte GmbH

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Griss & Partners

Best Real Estate Firm
Konrad & Justich, Attorneys at Law

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Schubeck & Schubeck

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Sladek & Meyenburg

Best Energy Firm
Kaan Cronenberg & Partner

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
DLA Piper Weiss-Tessbach

Best Employment Firm
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Best Individual Lawyer
Dr Michael Meyenburg, Sladek & Meyenburg

Best Shipping Firm
Schneider & Schneider

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Griss & Partners

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Sladek & Meyenburg

BAHAMAS
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Patton, Moreno & Asvat (Bahamas) Ltd

Best M&A Firm
Callenders & Co Counsel and Attorneys Notaries Public 

Best Tax Firm
Harry B Sands, Lobosky & Company

Best Tax Consultant
Keith M Duncombe, Harry B Sands, Lobosky & Company

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Bahamas Law Chambers

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Lennox Paton

Best Real Estate Firm
Bahamas Law Chambers

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Alexiou, Knowles & Co

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes

Best Energy Firm
JD Sellier & Co

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Monique VA Gomez & Co

Best Employment Firm
Bahamas Law Chambers

Best Individual Lawyer
Elvis Hanna, Monique VA Gomez & Co

Best Shipping Firm
McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
EP Toothe & Associates 

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Lennox Paton

BELGIUM
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

Best M&A Firm
Foley & Lardner LLP

Best Tax Firm
Association Afschrift

Best Tax Consultant
Thierry Afschrift, Association Afschrift

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
McGuireWoods LLP

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

Best Real Estate Firm
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Crowell & Moring

Best Energy Firm
Arnold & Porter LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Covington & Burling LLP

Best Employment Firm
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP 

Best Individual Lawyer
Timothy J May, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Mul Law Offices

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Deloitte

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Lorenz

BERMUDA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Trott & Duncan

Best M&A Firm
Mello Jones & Martin

Best Tax Firm
Trott & Duncan

Best Tax Consultant
Karen E Williams-Smith, Trott & Duncan

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Cox Hallett Wilkinson

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Lynda Milligan-Whyte & Associates

Best Real Estate Firm
Marshall Diel & Myers

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Appleby

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Lynda Milligan-Whyte & Associates

Best Energy Firm
Trott & Duncan

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Alexanders, Barristers & Attorneys

Best Employment Firm
Mello Jones & Martin

Best Individual Lawyer
Richard Thomas Horseman, Wakefield Quin Limited

Best Shipping Firm
Mello Jones & Martin

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Attride-Stirling & Woloniecki

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Cox Hallett Wilkinson

BRAZIL
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Tozzinifreire Advogados

Best M&A Firm
Corrêa da Costa Advogados

Best Tax Firm
Machado Associados Advogados e Consultores

Best Tax Consultant
João A Branco, Deloitte

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Sonia Marques Döbler Advogados 

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Mayer Brown LLP

Best Real Estate Firm
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP 

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Lanna Peixoto Advogados

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Sonia Marques Döbler Advogados

Best Energy Firm
Veirano Advogados

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Teixeira Martins Advogados

Best Employment Firm
Mayer Brown LLP

Best Individual Lawyer
Hamilton Dias De Souza, Dias De Souza

Best Shipping Firm
Garcia & Keener Advogados

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Deloitte

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Miguel Neto Advogados

CANADA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Lavery, de Billy, LLP

Best M&A Firm
Miller Thomson LLP

Best Tax Firm
Borden Ladner & Gervais

Best Tax Consultant
Stephen J Fyfe, Borden Ladner & Gervais

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
McCarthy Tetrault LLP

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Gilbert’s LLP

Best Real Estate Firm
Lawson Lundell LLP

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Miller Thomson LLP

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Best Energy Firm
Miller Thomson LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Lawson Lundell LLP

Best Employment Firm
Ocana Law Group

Best Individual Lawyer
Pierre Bienvenu, Ogilvy Renault LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Ogilvy Renault LLP

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Hiscock & Barclay LLP

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Heenan Blaikie LLP

CAYMAN ISLANDS
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Thorp Alberga

Best M&A Firm
Solomon Harris

Best Tax Firm
Finab Legal Ltd

Best Tax Consultant
Wilton G McDonald II, Finab Legal Ltd

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Turner & Roulstone 

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Solomon Harris

Best Real Estate Firm
Giglioli & Company

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Charles Adams, Ritchie & Duckworth

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
J Barry Smith

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Ritch & Conolly

Best Employment Firm
Samson & McGrath

Best Individual Lawyer
George P E Giglioli, Giglioli & Company

Best Shipping Firm
Giglioli & Company

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Mourant du Feu & Jeune

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Finab Legal Ltd

CHILE
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Carey Y Cia Abogados

Best M&A Firm
Bofill Mir & Alvarez Hinzpeter Jana Abogados

Best Tax Firm
Alcaíno Rodríguez Sahli

Best Tax Consultant
Irene Mayans, Montt y Cia SA

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Rivadeneira Colombara Zegers Y Compania Abogados

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Bofill Mir & Alvarez Hinzpeter Jana Abogados

Best Real Estate Firm
Puga Ortiz

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Alessandri & Compañía 

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Carey Y Cia Abogados

Best Energy Firm
Carey Y Cia Abogados

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos & Cia Ltda

Best Employment Firm
Montt y Cia SA 

Best Individual Lawyer
Pedro Yaconi Valdebenito, Hermosilla Solis Levi Yaconi Donoso

Best Shipping Firm
Bahamondez, Alvarez & Zegers Ltda

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Bahamondez, Alvarez & Zegers Ltda

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Arteaga Gorziglia & Cía Abogados

CHINA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Hastings & Co

Best M&A Firm
Troutman Sanders LLP

Best Tax Firm
Vivien Chan & Co

Best Tax Consultant
Vivien Chan, Vivien Chan & Co

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Hastings & Co

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Alderson Campbell 

Best Real Estate Firm
Foo and Li

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Albert Dan and Company

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Wilkinson & Grist

Best Energy Firm
HJM Asia Law & Co LLC

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Ng & Co

Best Employment Firm
Stephenson Harwood & Lo

Best Individual Lawyer
Timothy J Unger, Andrews Kurth LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Kao, Lee & Yip

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Pamir Law Group Shanghai Office

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Pamir Law Group Shanghai Office

COSTA RICA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Pacheco Coto

Best M&A Firm
Cordero & Cordero Abogados

Best Tax Firm
C & S Law Group – Attorneys At Law

Best Tax Consultant
Gianfranco Rodriguez Bovieri, C & S Law Group

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Central Law

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
SPC Legal (Costa Rica)

Best Real Estate Firm
Gutierrez Hernandez & Pauly

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Divimark Abogados

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Weinstok Abogados

Best Energy Firm
Guardia & Cubero

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Zürcher, Odio & Raven

Best Employment Firm
BLP Abogados

Best Individual Lawyer
Alejandra Patiño, Weinstok Abogados

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Weinstok Abogados

Best Foreign Investment Firm
FVS Attorneys at Law

CROATIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Divjak, Topic & Bahtijarevic Law Office

Best M&A Firm
Zuric i Partneri LLC

Best Tax Firm
Ana Sihtar Attorneys at Law

Best Tax Consultant
Ana Sihtar, Ana Sihtar Attorneys at Law

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
IKRP Rokas & Partners

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Vukic, Jelušic, Šulina, Stankovic, Jurcan & Jabuka 

Best Real Estate Firm
Babic & Partners Law Firm Ltd

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Law Firm Hanzekovic & Partners Ltd

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Matijevich Law Offices

Best Energy Firm
Babic & Partners Law Firm Ltd

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Juric & Vrbanovic

Best Employment Firm
Law Firm Hanzekovic & Partners Ltd

Best Individual Lawyer
Emir Bahtijarevic, Divjak, Topic & Bahtijarevic Law Office

Best Shipping Firm
Law Offices Miroljub Macesic 

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Law Offices Miroljub Macesic

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Studio Legale Sutti

CYPRUS
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC

Best M&A Firm
Patrikios Pavlou & Associates

Best Tax Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Best Tax Consultant
Christophoros Christophi, Christophi & Associates LLC

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Areti Charidemou & Associates LLC

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Andreas Sofocleous & Co

Best Real Estate Firm
Anastasios Antoniou LLC

Best Intellectual Property Firm
George Y Yiangou & Co Advocates & Legal Consultants

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Ierotheou & Kamperis Advocates – Legal Consultants

Best Energy Firm
Ioannides Demetriou LLC

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Tornaritis Law

Best Employment Firm
Nairy Der Arakelian-Merheje Law Office

Best Individual Lawyer
Areti Charidemou, Areti Charidemou & Associates LLC

Best Shipping Firm
Montanios & Montanios

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Kinanis LLC

DENMARK
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Logos Legal Services

Best M&A Firm
Bruun & Hjejle

Best Tax Firm
Nielson Norager

Best Tax Consultant
Jeanet Høgh Sørensen, Advokataktieselskabet Lowzow & Monberg

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Rønne & Lundgren

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Norsker & Co

Best Real Estate Firm
Norsker & Co

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Rønne & Lundgren

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Jonas Bruun

Best Energy Firm
Bruun & Hjejle

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Lassen Ricard

Best Employment Law Firm
Norrbom Vinding

Best Individual Lawyer
Bent Lauritzen, Soby & Partners

Best Shipping Firm
Advokataktieselskabet Lowzow & Monberg

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Logos Legal Services

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Philip Law Firm

EGYPT
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Al Tamimi & Company

Best M&A Firm
Ibrachy & Dermarkar

Best Tax Firm
Shalakany Law Office

Best Tax Consultant
Mahmoud Shedid, Shalakany Law Office

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Al Tamimi & Company

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Hafez

Best Real Estate Firm
Karim Adel Law Office 

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Ibrachy & Dermarkar

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Zulficar & Partners Law Firm

Best Energy Firm
Al Kamel Law Office

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
SNR Denton

Best Employment Firm
SNR Denton

Best Individual Lawyer
Mr Karim Hafez, Hafez

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Karim Adel Law Office

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Hassouna & Abou Ali

ESTONIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Luiga Mody Hääl Borenius

Best M&A Firm
Lextal Law Firm

Best Tax Firm
Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Tax Consultant
Valters Gencs, Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Rödl & Partner 

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Luiga Mody Hääl Borenius

Best Real Estate Firm
Law Office Ots & Co

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Rödl & Partner

Best Energy Firm
Luiga Mody Hääl Borenius

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Lextal Law Firm

Best Employment Firm
Law Office Ots & Co 

Best Individual Lawyer
Jüri Nuut, Malsco Law Office

Best Shipping Firm
Malsco Law Office

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Luiga Mody Hääl Borenius 

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Malsco Law Office

FINLAND
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Procopé & Hornborg Attorneys at Law Ltd

Best M&A Firm
HH Partners

Best Tax Firm
Reims & Co Attorneys at Law

Best Tax Consultant
Kristian Georgs, Reims & Co Attorneys at Law

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
LMR Attorneys

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Attorneys At Law Borenius & Kemppinen

Best Real Estate Firm
Attorneys At Law Borenius & Kemppinen

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Wrede & Co

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Procopé & Hornborg Attorneys at Law Ltd

Best Energy Firm
LMR Attorneys

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Procopé & Hornborg Attorneys at Law Ltd

Best Employment Firm
Attorneys-at-Law Juridia

Best Individual Lawyer
Leif Itäinen, Peltonen, Ruokonen & Itäinen

Best Shipping Firm
HH Partners

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Hannes Snellman Attorneys at Law

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Advocare – Patrick Lindgren

GERMANY
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Best M&A Firm
King & Spalding LLP

Best Tax Firm
PwC

Best Tax Consultant
Dr Martin Weger, Kaye Scholer LLP

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Hemmelrath & Partner /Marccus Partners

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Michael Owens

Best Real Estate Firm
Buse Heberer Fromm

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Holme Roberts & Owen Rechtsanwälte

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Jones Day

Best Energy Firm
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Hengeler Mueller

Best Employment Firm
Gliess Lutz

Best Individual Lawyer
Prof Dr Alexander Hemmelrath, Hemmelrath & Partner

Best Shipping Firm
Segelken & Suchopar

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
HGAS

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Reeg Rechtsanwälte

GREECE
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Koutalidis Law Firm

Best M&A Firm
Koutalidis Law Firm

Best Tax Firm
Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates

Best Tax Consultant
George Ch Moukas, Ballas, Pelecanos & Associates

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
KLC Law Firm

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Bahas, Gramatidis & Partners

Best Real Estate Firm
Sarantitis Law Firm

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Karatzas & Partners

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Stavropoulos & Partners Law Office

Best Energy Firm
KLC Law Firm

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Zepos & Yannopoulos

Best Employment Firm
PD Law Offices

Best Individual Lawyer
Kostas Loukopoulos, KLC Law Firm

Best Shipping Firm
Timagenis Law Firm

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Tsibanoulis & Partners

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Papapolitis & Papapolitis

HUNGARY
Best Banking & Finance Firm
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP

Best M&A Firm
Hargittay Jarovinszkij

Best Tax Firm
Nagy és Trócsányi

Best Tax Consultant
László András Kelemen, Szabó Kelemen & Partners Attorneys

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Forgó, Damjanovic and Partners Law Firm

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Hargittay Jarovinszkij

Best Real Estate Firm
Bogsch & Partners

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Kálmán, Szilasi, Sárközy & Partners

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Kálmán, Szilasi, Sárközy & Partners

Best Energy Firm
Saxinger, Chalupsky & Partners Zimányi & Fakó Rechtsanwaelte

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Kovács Réti Szegheö Attorneys at Law

Best Employment Firm
CHSH Dezsõ & Partners

Best Individual Lawyer
Dr Zoltán Forgó, Forgó, Damjanovic and Partners Law Firm

Best Shipping Firm
Simándi Bird & Bird

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Hargittay Jarovinszkij

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Bihary, Balassa & Társai Ügyvédi Iroda

ICELAND
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Lex

Best M&A Firm
BBA Legal

Best Tax Firm
ADVEL Attorneys at Law

Best Tax Consultant
Ragnar Gudmundsson, ADVEL Attorneys at Law

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Lex

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Logos Legal Services

Best Real Estate Firm
Logos Legal Services

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Fjeldsted, Blondal & Fjeldsted

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Logos Legal Services

Best Individual Lawyer
Skúli Th Fjeldsted, Fjeldsted, Blondal & Fjeldsted

Best Shipping Firm
ADVEL Attorneys at Law

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Fjeldsted, Blondal & Fjeldsted

INDIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Schroff & Co

Best M&A Firm
P&A Law Offices

Best Tax Firm
Economic Laws Practice

Best Tax Consultant
Dilip Kumar Niranjan, Singh & Associates

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Brus Chambers

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Patrick Mirandah Co

Best Real Estate Firm
Advaya Legal

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Anderson & Anderson LLP

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Singhania & Partners

Best Energy Firm
R Bhargavan & Associates

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Singhania & Partners

Best Employment Firm
Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe

Best Individual Lawyer
Gautam Khurana, India Law Offices

Best Shipping Firm
Maheshwari & Co

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Singh & Associates Advocates and Solicitors 

Best Foreign Investment Firm
India Law Offices

ISRAEL
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Gornitzky & Co 

Best M&A Firm
S Horowitz & Co

Best Tax Firm
Ernst & Young

Best Tax Consultant
Meir Akunis, Meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem Brandwein

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Moshe Kahn Advocates

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
S Horowitz & Co

Best Real Estate Firm
Yehuda Raveh & Co

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Reif & Reif

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC

Best Energy Firm
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Yigal Arnon & Co

Best Employment Firm
Weiss, Porat & Co Advocates & Notaries

Best Individual Lawyer
Doron Kochavi, Kochavi Law Office Doron Kochavi, Esq

Best Shipping Firm
Naschitz, Brandes & Co

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Meitar Liquornik Geva & Leshem Brandwein

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Yaacov Salomon, Lipschutz & Co

ITALY
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Gianni, Origoni, Grippo & Partners

Best M&A Firm
Studio Legale Pedersoli e Associati

Best Tax Firm
Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati

Best Tax Consultant
Alice Venturini, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Studio Scognamiglio

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Studio Legale Irti

Best Real Estate Firm
Freshfields

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Hammonds

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Studio Legale Grimaldi e Associati

Best Energy Firm
Agnoli Bernardi e Associati

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Chiomenti Studio Legale

Best Employment Law Firm
Studio Legale Pulsoni

Best Individual Lawyer
Fabio Pulsoni, Studio Legale Pulsoni

Best Shipping Firm
Studio legale Scognamiglio

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Deloitte

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Camozzi Bonissoni Varrenti & Associati

JORDAN
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Obeidat & Freihat

Best M&A Firm
The Jordanian Counselor (JC LAW) Attorneys at Law & Legal Advisors

Best Tax Firm
Dallal & Associates

Best Tax Consultant
Rajai K W Dajani, Rajai K W Dajani & Associates

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Sanad Law Group

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Dajani & Associates

Best Real Estate Firm
Dajani & Associates 

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Abu-Ghazaleh Legal

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
International Business Legal Associates (IBLAW)

Best Energy Firm
Hammouri and Partners

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Zalloum & Laswi Law Firm

Best Employment Firm
Jardaneh Law Firm

Best Individual Lawyer
Yousef S Khalilieh, Rajai KW Dajani & Associates

Best Shipping Firm
Jardaneh Law Firm

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Office of Anis F Kassim

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Office of Anis F Kassim

KUWAIT
Best M&A Firm
Al Markaz Law Firm

Best Tax Firm
Abdullah Kh Al-Ayoub & Associates

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
ASAR Al Ruwayeh & Partners

Best Real Estate Firm
AlBisher Legal Group Anwar AlBisher, Talal AlBisher & Partners Attorneys at Law

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Al-Hekook Advocates & Legal Consultants

Best Employment Firm
SNR Denton

LATVIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Klavins & Slaidins (Lawin)

Best M&A Firm
Rödl & Partner

Best Tax Firm
Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Tax Consultant
Sanita Laiveniece, Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Liepa Skopina Borenius, Attorneys at Law

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Liepa Skopina Borenius, Attorneys at Law

Best Real Estate Firm
Klavins & Slaidins (Lawin)

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Employment Firm
Rödl & Partner

Best Shipping Firm
Skudra & Udris

LITHUANIA
Best M&A Firm
Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai (Lawin)

Best Tax Firm
Gencs Valters Law Firm

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai (Lawin)

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Norcous & Partners

Best Real Estate Firm
Sutkiene, Pilkauskas & Partners

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Rödl & Partner 

Best Energy Firm
Baltic Legal Solutions

Best Individual Lawyer
Giedrius Stasevicius, Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai (Lawin)

LUXEMBOURG
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Wildgen, Partners in Law

Best M&A Firm
Allen & Overy Luxembourg 

Best Tax Firm
Loyens Loeff

Best Tax Consultant
David Maria, Wildgen, Partners in Law

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Elvinger, Hoss & Prussen

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Molitor, Fisch & Associes

Best Real Estate Firm
Oostvogels Pfister Feyten Avocats à la Cour

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Plottke & Associates

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Elvinger, Hoss & Prussen

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Kleyr Collarini Grasso

Best Employment Firm
Adam & Bleser

Best Individual Lawyer
Henri Delwaide, Elvinger, Hoss & Prussen

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Dupong & Metzler

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Elvinger, Hoss & Prussen

MEXICO
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Enriquez, Gonzalez, Aguirre y Ochoa, SC

Best M&A Firm
Baker & McKenzie

Best Tax Firm
Jones Day

Best Tax Consultant
Julian Nihill, Strasburger & Price, LLP

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Valdes Abascal Y Brito Anderson, SC

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa

Best Real Estate Firm
Mexico Legal Group, Hermosillo

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Thompson & Knight Abogados

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Valdes Abascal Y Brito Anderson, SC

Best Energy Firm
Thompson & Knight Abogados

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Oscós Abogados

Best Employment Firm
Goodrich, Riquelme y Asociados 

Best Individual Lawyer
Darío U Oscós Coria, Oscós Abogados

Best Shipping Firm
Noriega y Escobedo, AC 

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Baker & McKenzie

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Thompson & Knight Abogados

MOLDOVA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Vernon | David

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Turcan & Turcan

Best Real Estate Firm
Vernon | David

Best Individual Lawyer
Alexander Turcan, Turcan & Turcan

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Law Office of Victor A Levintsa

MONTENEGRO
Best Tax Consultant
Christos Theodorou, IKRP Rokas & Partners (Podgorica)

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Law Office of Ana Kolarevic

Best Real Estate Firm
Montenegro, Thompson, Montenegro & Genz

Best Individual Lawyer
Ana Kolarevic, Law Office of Ana Kolarevic

MOROCCO
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Kettani Law Firm

Best M&A Firm
Kettani Law Firm

Best Tax Firm
Garrigues

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Benzakour Law Firm

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Mohamed Mehdi Salmouni-Zerhouni

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Ben Abderrahmane & Partners International Law Firm

NETHERLANDS
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Greenberg Traurig LLP

Best M&A Firm
Boekel De Nerée NV 

Best Tax Firm
Van Mens en Wisselink

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
KerkmanLaw

Best Real Estate Firm
Russell Advocaten BV

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Howrey LLP

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Bird & Bird

Best Energy Firm
Holland Van Gijzen Attorneys at Law & Civil Law Notaries

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Brada Kuttner Attorneys at Law Tax Attorneys

Best Employment Firm
Russell Advocaten BV

Best Shipping Firm
Veldhuijzen Evenboer & Nuiten Advocaten BV

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Ernst & Young

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Boekel De Nerée NV

NORWAY
Best Banking & Finance Firm
DLA Piper

Best M&A Firm
Bull & Co Advokatfirma AS

Best Tax Firm
Haavind Vislie

Best Tax Consultant
Odd Wisløff, Raeder Advokatfirma

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
DLA Piper

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Kluge Advokatfirma DA

Best Real Estate Firm
Gram, Hambro & Garman Advokatfirma AS

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech advokatfirma AS

Best Energy Firm
Advokatfirmaet Selmer DA

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Advokatfirmaet Steenstrup Stordrange DA

Best Employment Firm
Advokatfirma Kluge Ans

Best Shipping Firm
Vogt & Wiig Law Firm

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS

PERU
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Duany & Kresalja Estudio de Abogados

Best M&A Firm
Marroquin & Merino

Best Tax Firm
Rey & de los Rios

Best Tax Consultant
Francisco Espinosa Bellido, Espinosa Bellido Abogados

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Estudio Mario Castillo Freyre

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Estudio Olaechea

Best Real Estate Firm
Lazo, De Romaña & Gagliuffi Abogados

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Espinosa Bellido Abogados

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Estudio Olaechea

Best Energy Firm
Rey & de los Rios

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Jorge Avendaño · Forsyth & Arbe Abogados

Best Employment Firm
Estudio Osterling

Best Individual Lawyer
Victor Marroquin, Marroquin & Merino

Best Shipping Firm
Fort, Bertorini, Godoy & Pollari Abogados

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Rey & de los Rios 

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Abogados & Consultores OMC

POLAND
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Kochanski Zieba Rapala & Partners

Best M&A Firm
Marek Wierzbowski and Partners

Best Tax Firm
Ernst & Young

Best Tax Consultant
Artur Rogozik, TGC Corporate Lawyers

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Kubas Kos Gaertner

Best Real Estate Firm
Kubas Kos Gaertner

Best Intellectual Property Firm
WKB Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baer, SpK

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Domanski Zakrzewski Palinka

Best Energy Firm
Wiercinski, Kwiecinski, Baehr

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
TGC Corporate Lawyers

Best Employment Firm
Dewey & LeBoeuf Grzesiak SpK

Best Individual Lawyer
Paweł Bajno, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Kochanski Zieba Rapala & Partners

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Dewey & LeBoeuf Grzesiak SpK

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Drzewiecki, Tomaszek & Partners

PORTUGAL
Best Banking & Finance Firm
J A Pinto Ribeiro & Associados

Best M&A Firm
Pedro Pinto Reis & Associados

Best Tax Firm
Deloitte

Best Tax Consultant
Luiz Augusto Teixeira de Freitas, Teixeira de Freitas, Rodrigues e Associados

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Gouveia Pereira, Costa Freitas & Associados

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Soares Machado & Associados

Best Real Estate Firm
Athayde de Tavares, Pereira da Rosa & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, RL

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Soares Machado & Associados

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Gouveia Pereira, Costa Freitas & Associados

Best Energy Firm
AVM Advogados

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Athayde de Tavares, Pereira da Rosa & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, RL

Best Employment Firm
Pereira de Almeida & Associados – Sociedade de Advogados, RL Law Firm

Best Individual Lawyer
Jorge Santiago Neves, Gómez-Acebo& Pombo

Best Shipping Firm
AVM Advogados

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Teixeira de Freitas, Rodrigues e Associados

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Rolim, Godoi, Viotti & Leite Campos Advogados

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Best Banking & Finance Firm
William Fry

Best M&A Firm
Holme Roberts & Owen Solicitors

Best Tax Firm
Ernst & Young

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
William Fry

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Dillon Eustace

Best Real Estate Firm
Duncan Grehan & Partners

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Holme Roberts & Owen Solicitors

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Mason Hayes+Curran

Best Energy Firm
O’Donnell Sweeney Eversheds

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
LK Shields Solicitors

Best Employment Firm
Mason Hayes+Curran

Best Individual Lawyer
Ms Kathryn Murphy, G J Moloney

Best Shipping Firm
G J Moloney

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Ernst & Young

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Dillon Eustace

ROMANIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Studio Legale Sutti 

Best M&A Firm
CHSH Gilescu & Partenerii SCA Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati

Best Tax Firm
Stoica & Asociatii Attorneys at Law

Best Tax Consultant
Cristiana I Stoica, Stoica & Asociatii Attorneys at Law

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Pachiu & Associates

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu SCA in association with Allen & Overy LLP

Best Real Estate Firm
Popovici Nitu & Asociatii

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Studio Legle de Capoa & Associati 

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen

Best Energy Firm
Kinstellar SCA

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Salans LLP 

Best Employment Firm
Vernon | David

Best Individual Lawyer
Dana Isaroiu, Fine Law – Patrascanu & Associates

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Wolf Theiss

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Studio Legale Sutti 

RUSSIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
CMS Russia

Best M&A Firm
Russin & Vecchi LLC

Best Tax Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Best Tax Consultant
Maxim A Zgodko, LLM, Ackermann Bellmer

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Smirnov Davydov & Susskind Law Offices

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners

Best Real Estate Firm
Norton Rose

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Gowlings

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Magister & Partners

Best Energy Firm
Haynes and Boone, LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Russin & Vecchi LLC

Best Employment Firm
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

Best Individual Lawyer
Maxim A Zgodko, LLM, Ackermann Bellmer

Best Shipping Firm
Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Pepeliaev, Goltsblat & Partners

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Alrud

SAUDI ARABIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Toban Law Firm

Best M&A Firm
EK Partners & Al-Enezee Legal Counsel

Best Tax Firm
Attayyar Law Firm in Association with Alem & Associates

Best Tax Consultant
Dr Bader Al-Busaies, Fahad Al-Suwaiket & Bader Al-Busaies Attorneys at Law

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Law Offices of Dr Mujahid Al-Sawwaf

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Law Office of Hassan Mahassni

Best Real Estate Firm
King & Spalding LLP

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Legal

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Fahad Al-Suwaiket & Bader Al-Busaies Attorneys at Law 

Best Energy Firm
Al-Jadaan and Partners

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Hatem Abbas Ghazzawi & Co 

Best Employment Firm
AL Jarbou Law Firm, in association with Torbey, Touma & Associates 

Best Individual Lawyer
Babul J Parikh, Baker Botts LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Law Offices of Dr Mohamed H Hoshan

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Law Offices of Dr Mohamed H Hoshan

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Latham & Watkins LLP

SERBIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati 

Best M&A Firm
TSD Tomic Stevic Dulic 

Best Tax Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Kinstellar

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Patent & Trade Mark Agency Mihailovic 

Best Real Estate Firm
Karanovic & Nikolic

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Law Offices Popovic, Popovic, Samardzija & Popovic 

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Kinstellar doo

Best Employment Firm
TSD Tomic Stevic Dulic 

Best Individual Lawyer
Aleksandar Preradovic, Harrisons Solicitors

SINGAPORE
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Duane Morris LLP

Best M&A Firm
Shook Lin & Bok LLP

Best Tax Firm
Arthur Loke & Sim LLP

Best Tax Consultant
See Hua Chua, Raslan · Loong

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Patrick Mirandah Co (Singapore)

Best Real Estate Firm
Ali Budiardjo, Nugroho, Reksodiputro

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Allens Arthur Robinson

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
ATMD Bird & Bird LLP

Best Energy Firm
Jones Day 

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Raslan · Loong

Best Employment Firm
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Best Individual Lawyer
Yong Chan Sim, Arthur Loke & Sim LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Holman Fenwick Willan

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
White & Case LLP 

Best Foreign Investment Firm
White & Case LLP 

SLOVAKIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Peterka & Partners vos advokatska kancelaria organizacna zlozka

Best M&A Firm
Lansky, Ganzger & Partner Rechtsanwälte, spol sro 

Best Tax Firm
Kinstellar

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Cechová & Partners

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Lansky, Ganzger & Partner Rechtsanwälte, spol sro

Best Real Estate Firm
Ruzicka Csekes sro

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Konecna & Safar sro, advokatni kancelar

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
B & S Legal sro

Best Energy Firm
Ruzicka Csekes sro in association with members of CMS

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
PRK Partners sro advokátní kancelár 

Best Employment Firm
Peterka & Partners vos advokatska kancelaria organizacna zlozka

Best Individual Lawyer
Rastislav Kuklis, Weinhold Legal vos

Best Shipping Firm
Bird & Bird

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
PRK Partners sro advokátní kancelár

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Avocat sro

SOUTH AFRICA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Webber Wentzel

Best M&A Firm
DLA Cliffe Dekker
Hofmeyr

Best Tax Firm
Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs

Best Tax Consultant
Blaize Vance, Bell Dewar

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
DLA Cliffe Dekker
Hofmeyr

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

Best Real Estate Firm
Deneys Reitz Inc

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Routledge Modise Attorneys

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
DLA Cliffe Dekker
Hofmeyr

Best Energy Firm
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
DLA Cliffe Dekker
Hofmeyr

Best Employment Firm
Werkmans

Best Individual Lawyer
Johan Latsky, DLA Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

Best Shipping Firm
Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Bowman Gilfillan

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Lindsay Keller Attorneys

SPAIN
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Marimón Abogados

Best M&A Firm
Dr Frühbeck Abogados, SLP

Best Tax Firm
Alemany, Escalona & Escalante Abogados, SLP

Best Tax Consultant
José Ignacio Alemany Bellido, Alemany, Escalona & Escalante Abogados, SLP

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Howrey Martinez Lage, SL 

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Alfaro-Abogados

Best Real Estate Firm
Mariscal y Asociados Abogados

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Fernando Scornik Gerstein

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Monereo Meyer Marinel-lo Abogados

Best Energy Firm
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Mariscal y Asociados Abogados

Best Employment Firm
Marimón Abogados

Best Individual Lawyer
Elizabeth Dahl, Howrey LLP

Best Shipping Firm
Fernando Scornik Gerstein

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Jones Day

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Jones Day

SWEDEN
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Mannheimer Swartling

Best M&A Firm
Pierce Atwood LLP

Best Tax Firm
Setterwalls

Best Tax Consultant
Hans M Carlsten, Lindahl

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
DLA Piper

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Hedberg & Co Advokatbyrå AB

Best Real Estate Firm
KLA – Karlerö Liljeblad Advokatbyrå HB

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Advokatfirman Lindberg & Saxon

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Pierce Atwood LLP 

Best Energy Firm
Advokatfirman Lindahl

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
DLA Piper

Best Employment Firm
Hedberg & Co Advokatbyrå AB

Best Individual Lawyer
Jonas H Westerberg, Lindahl

Best Shipping Firm
Advokatfirman Lindahl

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Rydincarlsten Advokatbyra AB

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Linklaters Lagerlöf

SWITZERLAND
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Schellenberg Wittmer

Best M&A Firm
Baker & Mckenzie

Best Tax Firm
Homburger AG

Best Tax Consultant
Dr iur Jürg Plattner, Wenger Plattner

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Tavernier Tschanz

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Bihrer Attorneys at Law Ltd

Best Real Estate Firm
MeyerLustenBerger

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Wenger Plattner

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Bär & Karrer AG

Best Energy Firm
Lalive Attorneys at Law

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Niederer Kraft & Frey

Best Employment Firm
Van Bael & Bellis

Best Individual Lawyer
Dr Heinz Bloch, SNR Denton

Best Shipping Firm
Winston & Strawn LLP

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
FBT Attorneys-at-Law

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Lenz & Staehelin

TANZANIA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Ako Law in association with Clyde & Co LLP 

Best M&A Firm
Mkono & Co (Advocates)

Best Tax Firm
Johnson Jasson & Associates, Advocates

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
CRB Africa Legal

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Mkono & Co (Advocates)

Best Real Estate Firm
Mkono & Co (Advocates)

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Ako Law in association with Clyde & Co LLP

Best Employment Firm
Ako Law in association with Clyde & Co LLP

Best Individual Lawyer
Charles Rwechungura, CRB Africa Legal

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Mkono & Co (Advocates)

TURKEY
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Hergüner Bilgen Özeke

Best M&A Firm
Esin Law Firm

Best Tax Firm
Pekin & Pekin

Best Tax Consultant
Orhan Yavuz Mavioglu, ADMD Law Office (Alkan Deniz Mavioglu)

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Cerrahoglu Law Firm

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Esin Law Firm

Best Real Estate Firm
Esin Law Firm

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Fazlioglu Law Office

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Elig

Best Energy Firm
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Moroglu Arseven

Best Employment Firm
Bener Law Firm

Best Individual Lawyer
Mr Gönenç Gurkaynak, Elig

Best Shipping Firm
Karaman Law Firm

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Ehmet Gun & Partners

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Sahin Dursun Eren Ozfirat Attorneys at Law 

UK
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Ashurst

Best M&A Firm
Allen & Overy LLP

Best Tax Firm
Boodle Hatfield

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Best Real Estate Firm
Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Herbert Smith LLP

Best Energy Firm
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Best Employment Firm
SJ Berwin

Best Individual Lawyer
Kenneth R Thompson II, Reed Elsevier Group plc

Best Shipping Firm
Ince & Co

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Simmons & Simmons

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP 

UKRAINE
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Baker & McKenzie

Best M&A Firm
Asters

Best Tax Firm
Ilyashev & Partners

Best Tax Consultant
Oleh M Malskyy, AstapovLawyers International Law Group

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Inyurpolis

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Ilyashev & Partners

Best Real Estate Firm
Peterka & Partners LLC

Best Intellectual Property Firm
BC Toms & Co 

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
BC Toms & Co

Best Energy Firm
Integrites International Law Firm

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Sayenko Kharenko

Best Employment Firm
Gvozdiy & Oberkovych Law Firm

Best Individual Lawyer
Olena Kibenko, Inyurpolis Law Firm

Best Shipping Firm
Hough, Heidingers, Yablonsky & Partners

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Ilyashev & Partners

Best Foreign Investment Firm
IKRP Rokas & Partners (Kiev)

URUGUAY
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Posadas, Posadas & Vecino

Best M&A Firm
Patton, Moreno & Asvat (South America) SA

Best Tax Firm
ALS Abogados

Best Tax Consultant
Virginia d’Isabella Cimarelli, ALS Abogados

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Guyer & Regules

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Olivera & Delpiazzo Abogados

Best Real Estate Firm
Estudio Dr Mezzera

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Guyer & Regules 

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Fischer Abogados

Best Energy Firm
Sanguinetti, Foderé & Bragard

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Rueda, Abadi & Pereira, Legal and Tax Advisors

Best Employment Firm
Estudio Ruiz Lapuente

Best Individual Lawyer
Nicolás Herrera, Guyer & Regules

Best Shipping Firm
Perez del Castillo · Inciarte · Gari

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Olivera & Delpiazzo Abogados

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Estudio Dr Mezzera

USA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
Butera, Beausang, Cohen & Brennan Professional Corporation

Best M&A Firm
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Best Tax Firm
Ernst & Young

Best Tax Consultant
Thomas P Spellane, Gilbride, Tusa, Last & Spellane LLC

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Thompson & Knight LLP

Best Real Estate Firm
Kaye Scholer LLP

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Kenyon & Kenyon LLP

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Mayer Brown LLP

Best Energy Firm
Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Sidney Austin LLP

Best Employment Firm
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Best Individual Lawyer
Kirk August Radke, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Best Shipping Firm
AK Vladimirov Law Office (VLO) – USA

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Duff & Phelps LLC

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

VENEZUELA
Best Banking & Finance Firm
De Sola Pate & Brown

Best M&A Firm
Imery Urdaneta Calleja Itriago & Flamarique

Best Tax Firm
Travieso Evans Arria Rengel & Paz

Best Tax Consultant
Imery Urdaneta, Calleja Itriago & Flamarique

Best Corporate & Commercial Firm
Travieso Evans Arria Rengel & Paz

Best Dispute Resolution Firm
Imery Urdaneta Calleja Itriago & Flamarique

Best Real Estate Firm
Abogados Klemprer Rivàs Perez Trujillo & Asociados AKRPT & Asociados 

Best Intellectual Property Firm
Rodriguez & Mendoza

Best Competition & Anti-Trust Firm
Hoet Pelaez Castillo & Duque

Best Energy Firm
Mendoza, Palacios, Acedo, Borjas, Paez Pumar & Cia

Best Insolvency & Financial Restructuring Firm
Ardila, Bauder, Mata & Peñaloza

Best Employment Firm
Imery Urdaneta Calleja Itriago & Flamarique

Best Individual Lawyer
Federico Araujo, Torres Plaz & Araujo

Best Shipping Firm
Travieso Evans Arria Rengel & Paz

Best Transfer Pricing Firm
Sabatino Pizzolante Maritime & Commercial Attorneys 

Best Foreign Investment Firm
Badell & Grau

Europe’s time to learn

Posted on January 5, 2011 by

Crises are a chance to learn. For the past 200 years, with the exception of the Great Depression, major financial crises originated in poor and unstable countries, which then needed major policy adjustments. Today’s crisis started in rich industrial countries – not only with sub-prime mortgages in the United States, but also with mismanagement of banks and public debt in Europe. So what will Europe learn, and what relevance will those lessons have for the rest of the world?

Europe’s contemporary problems offer striking parallels with previous problems on the periphery of the world economy. In successive waves of painful crisis – in Latin America in the 1980s, and in East Asia after 1997 – countries learned a better approach to economic policy and developed a more sustainable framework for managing public-sector debt. Today it is Europe’s turn.

The European crisis is coming full circle. Initially a financial crisis, it morphed into a classic public-debt crisis after governments stepped in to guarantee banks’ obligations. That, in turn, has created a new set of worries for banks that are over-exposed to supposedly secure government debt. Sovereign debt no longer looks stable.

One of the most important precedents is the debacle of Latin American debt almost 30 years ago. In August 1982, Mexico shocked the world by declaring that it was unable to service its debt. For most of that summer, Mexico, with a projected fiscal deficit of around 11 percent of GDP, was still borrowing on international financial markets, though at an increasing premium. Banks had reassured themselves with the belief that countries could not become insolvent. But then a wide range of inherently different countries seemed to line up like a row of dominos.

While Mexico had a petroleum-based boom in the wake of the second oil-price shock of the 1970s, Argentina suffered from economic mismanagement under a military dictatorship that then staged its disastrous invasion of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas. Brazil had experienced an earlier version of its current economic miracle, with stunning growth rates financed by capital imports. But in the end, these very different circumstances produced a common and inherently simple problem: over-indebtedness.

A Latin American default would have brought down the banking systems of all the major industrial countries, causing something like a replay of the Great Depression. Exposure to Mexican debt alone represented some 90 percent of the capitalisation of major US banks.

The solution that was eventually adopted was considered brilliant at the time, because it avoided formal default by any of the big Latin American borrowers (though Brazil briefly defaulted five years later, in 1987). It involved a combination of three elements: immediate international assistance, through the International Monetary Fund; severe domestic retrenchment, enforced by the highly unpopular conditionality of IMF programs; and additional financing provided by the banks.

There was no institutionalised write-down of Latin American debt until five years after the crisis, when a haircut no longer threatened banks’ stability. It was only at this moment that real lending for new projects could really begin. In the meantime, Latin America remained mired in what became widely known as “the lost decade.”

The contemporary European solution seems to be repeating the same time-buying tactics of the lost decade of the 1980s in the developing world. There is the same combination of international support, highly unpopular domestic austerity measures (which are bound to set off major protests), and the apparent absolution of banks from financial responsibility for problems that they produced.

Major European banks – in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France – have, like their 1980s predecessors, built up a gigantic exposure to what they erroneously thought was safe debt. A substantial immediate haircut on the sovereign debt of the vulnerable eurozone countries would be so destructive that it would set off a new round of bank panics. Recognising this problem, banks can hold their host governments to ransom. That is why the crisis has become a challenge for the UK, Germany, and France.

The Franco-German initiative unveiled at Deauville in early November, which would require some possible measure of restructuring for debt issued after 2013, tried to avoid the immediate shock of a haircut. But the pre-announcement of possible write-downs still led to a major wave of uncertainty about banks.

A long-term alternative requires some capacity to write down debt where it has reached excessive levels. But it is also necessary to establish an iron-clad guarantee of some part of the outstanding debt, in order to remove fear of a complete write-down.

A mechanism for dealing in an orderly way with sovereign bankruptcy would be a major contribution to global governance, and to solving a longstanding problem of sovereign-debt markets. Such proposals were widely discussed in the 1990s and early 2000s, and IMF Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger pushed a Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism that would have offered a legal path to imposing general haircuts on creditors, thereby ending the collective-action problems that impede the efficient resolution of sovereign bankruptcy.

If Europe could show – in the worst possible scenario of sovereign default – how such a process might operate, uncertainty would be reduced and markets would be reassured. And, in the longer term, we would have a viable international model of how to tackle severe sovereign-debt problems.

Harold James is Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University and Marie Curie Professor of History at the European University Institute, Florence. His most recent book is The Creation and Destruction of Value: The Globalization Cycle.

Wilson Pastor, Berend van den Berg | Petroamazonas EP

Posted on January 4, 2011August 6, 2019 by

Ecuador produces oil exclusively in the Amazon basin; we find out how the country meets its energy needs while remaining sensitive to this vital natural resource.

Ports gain in pro-business market

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

Deemed one of the most prestigious projects in the Sultanate of Oman, the Port boasts the four largest shipping lines. Business is booming. Both its terminals saw double digit growth in the past five years, with general cargo growing at over 20 percent per annum, despite the onset of the recession.

We spoke to the CEO Peter Ford, about the secret of Salalah’s success, the company’s continued growth and expansion plans, and to find out what the future has in store.

Mr Ford joined the Port of Salalah from APM Terminals, which manages the Port, where he worked for more than sixteen years. He has as a wealth of experience in the shipping industry both on vessels and in terminal management; is a graduate of both the US Merchant Marine Academy and the Lloyd’s Maritime Academy; holds a BSc in Marine Transport and Business and an MBA in Global Management.

The Port of Salalah itself began operating in 1998, at what used to be Mina Raysut and developed with extraordinary speed. Its strategic location made Salalah an ideal location to tranship cargo to destinations such as the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, East/ South Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

Now the biggest port in Oman and the second largest in the region, Salalah is thriving but the secret to its success is down to a number of different factors according to Mr Ford; location, expansion, good leadership and a pro-business environment.

Unique advantages
All the ports in the region are competing for business, but it is Salalah that has a number of unique advantages keeping it ahead of the competition; it’s main ones being its location, strong vibrant economy and its pro-business climate provided by the Omani government, Peter explains.

“We also ensure that Port of Salalah builds on its natural advantages and maintains high levels of productivity with state of the art equipment, a focus on innovation and a commitment to earning our customers.”

A new methodology is also being rolled out by the company. Lean Six Sigma has already been deemed a great success within APM terminals, its key features being to improve customer service, reduce waste and improve agility. Mr Ford added that:

“We will continue to improve efficiencies to both allow our existing customers the opportunity for consolidation and to take advantage of scale as well to attract new customers to our port.”

Tough on results
Leadership is a crucial part of the Port’s success, according to Mr Ford. He believes that it is his more inclusive style of leadership that is the most effective, balancing delegation and empowerment with accountability.

“We believe that the command and control version of leadership does not work in today’s workplace. The workforce is smart and they have opinions and views on the world and we should listen to the people doing the work rather than direct from the top down.

“I encourage freedom of thought amongst my managers and staff but I ensure that each one has the proper training and background as well as understanding their responsibility and accountability. I think for the most part my leadership style could be described as allowing individual responsibility but being tough on results.”

Expansion plans
Business may be going well, but there’s always room to build on the Port’s success continues the company’s CEO.

The key to further improving the Port’s success is to build on the fantastic location that Salalah already has and expanding when it comes to distribution, according to Mr Ford.

Both the Omani government and Port Salalah agree on the way forward following the company’s impressive growth to date.

“We cannot and will not rest on that advantage and both the government and the port plan to invest significant amounts in equipment, land and the ability to serve our customers.

“The vision of our business is to improve our levels of service beyond even what the current customer may desire in order to cater to the future growth they will deliver and attract new customers to Salalah.

“Between the government and Port of Salalah we have invested over $1.3bn in the current facilities. The government of Oman envisions the Port of Salalah to continue to maintain its premier position as a regional transshipment port and to also play an increasingly important role in the maritime trade of the world.”

The Port of Salalah is also committed not only to providing world-class port facilities, but also to creating new jobs within the country.

“With the continued support of the government we expect to act as a catalyst for the economic and social development of the southern region of Oman and provide career opportunities to Omani nationals.”

The secret of their success
In just one generation, Oman has become a role model for social and economic development. Ford praises the government and holds Sultan Qaboos in high regard, as he is of the opinion that both are responsible for the country’s success.

“There have been numerous remarkable achievements during the 40 year reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos particularly in education, health, human rights and the standard of living of its citizens.

“The government has built a business friendly environment and developed a national infrastructure which has facilitated the launch of numerous major projects.

“A focus on education, investing in people and a national system that believes the people should benefit from the country’s economic and social development has meant that the country has done nothing but succeed.

“I can only describe Oman as a shining star and congratulate the people on their success and his majesty on his leadership.”

Investment
Oman as a country has also a long history when it comes to private equity investment. It is considered a stable, low-risk country and Mr Ford believes that there are many industries that could benefit from setting up operations in Oman in particular.

“Clearly infrastructure in a developing country is long term and stable cash flow that is attractive to many types of investors.

“I believe Oman is an ideal fit for a regional distribution hub. This will benefit from Port of Salalah’s existing development plan and strategic location. We sit at the centre of the Asia-Europe trade and north south from East Africa and the Arabian Gulf, as well as India and Pakistan, so we find ourselves at the centre of some significant emerging markets that are incredibly attractive to the manufacturers of consumer goods.”

Oman’s also shares cultural similarities with the locations from which equity funds are managed, which is another benefit for those wishing to invest.

They wish to highlight and build on the benefits a world class port and free zone like Salalah can offer and also push its potential as an ideal warehousing location.

“By marketing ourselves with the Salalah Free Zone and offering attractive investment packages we believe we will attract significant interest from some of the world’s major manufacturers and distributors wishing to reach these markets.”

The port has also recently joined forces with a government entity called the Salalah Free Zone to try and attract major blue chip companies to come and set up in Salalah.

Mr Ford continues, revealing that Salalah has in fact just recently been ranked as the second best warehousing location in the region by LOG Middle East.

The Master Plan
So what does the future hold for the Port? More success if the past is anything to go by. Salalah is prepared for the future and their plans are focussed on growth, innovation and a commitment to their customers.

Mr Ford explains that they’ve recently completed a new 20 year master plan, outlining their future campaign for development and expansion.

The plan includes immediate expansion of their General Cargo Terminal, to handle up to 40 million tons of dry bulk commodities and over 5 million tons of liquid products annually, and, when required, an expected 6m TEU expansion at the container terminal.

“The tender process is finalised for the General Cargo terminal and 1.2km of multipurpose berths with drafts of 16 to 18m and work is expected to begin in the coming months.

“This expansion will lead to additional developments of bulk and liquid handling facilities and provide space for cruise and ferry facilities at the port.”

Vatican praises ‘ethical’ Sharia banking

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

Haitham Abdou, director of marketing and product strategy for the ITS group, the biggest supplier of Islamic banking solutions in the world, confessed he was shocked to read Pope Benedict praising Islam’s bankers in the pages of the official Vatican newspaper. However, Abdou said, the article convinced him that Islamic banking is now ready for a rebranding as ethical banking, a system that could find new customers in the western world and elsewhere, as well as its traditional home in the Islamic world.

“Pope Benedict urged the western community to look at the Islamic banking model because of its ethical principles, to restore confidence amongst their clients at a time of global economic crisis,” Mr Abdou says. “It was really quite shocking to me to read such a thing coming from the Pope, but that’s what led me to believe that Islamic banking is crossing the religious boundaries and being seen as an ethical business model.”

The new focus on Islamic banking in the west comes just as ITS prepares for a global roll-out of its latest suite of banking solutions, called, but no coincidence, Ethix.

The name is not just a reminder of the ethical basis of Islamic banking principles, with their refusal to allow ‘usury,’ the charging of interest, but a hint, although Mr Abdou is too polite to say so, that western banking has not necessarily been that ethical recently.

Top tier
ITS was established back in 1981, in Kuwait, where it was (and still is, mainly) owned house. “So because of their needs, our main focus from the beginning was supplying solutions for Islamic banking,” Mr Abdou says. He joined the company 13 years ago, and swiftly rose up from being a programmer, analyst, designer, project manager and product strategist. Three years ago he moved into the commercial side and is now director.

“We supply more than 85 banks in our part of the world. In the past couple of years we’ve started to grow into Africa, and into the Far East from Malaysia to the Philippines. Our core expertise is in Islamic banking, but we also supply into the conventional banking industry as well. We have a lot of the tier one banks as customers; we supply conventional banks in Africa, in Nigeria and South Africa,” Mr Abdou says.

“Conventional Western banks are looking to open up Islamic ‘windows’, especially with the global banking crisis. Islamic banking saw a boom starting a couple of years ago and we feel it’s been growing at about 15 to 20 percent here and globally and we don’t see that slowing down.”

Islamic banking started in the Middle East “probably because of the religious side of things,” Mr Abdou says, and then as western countries started to see the business model of Islamic banking they started to realise the attraction of sharing the risk with the consumer, so banks get more involved. The sector is now in a transitional period where the boundaries of religion are dropping; Islamic finance is now perceived as an alternative financial model rather than just targeting the Muslim community specifically.

“We’ve seen some of the tier one banks such as HSBC, Citibank, Citibank, abn amro, all established Islamic windows in their operations. We’ve seen in London, for example, official regulations covering Islamic banks have been brought in by the financial services agency in the past few years and there are five or six opened there now,” Mr Abdou says.

“France has issued licenses for the establishment of Islamic financial organisations. In my discussions with US regulators, the Islamic front end side of things, that’s where we’ve developed our own products. We are looking into the legality and regulations of the Islamic model, and I have started to see many conferences being held in north America. There’s a global trend in the industry.”

Alfred Dunhill welcomes you ‘home’

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

Alfred Dunhill is the definitive men’s luxury brand, committed to challenging the notion of luxury and what is expected of an international luxury brand. With over 220 stores across the world, the globally acclaimed ‘Homes’ retail lifestyle environments in London, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo are a perfect example of dunhill’s ability to push boundaries. A unique global concept, they embrace and provide the ultimate in masculine luxury and retail lifestyle.

Created for the discerning and modern gentleman, the brand as a whole echoes Alfred Dunhill’s own legacy as a curator of the very finest. Alfred Dunhill the man was a true innovator of his time. He broke rules and refused to conform. His extraordinary spirit and dedication to luxury and innovation is as much at the heart of the brand today as it was in 1893.

Reflecting this heritage and its pillars of elegance, culture, creativity and Britishness, the Homes of Alfred Dunhill epitomise the third dimension of luxury – The Experience, allowing the customer to truly live the brand. The Shanghai Home of Alfred Dunhill has among its features an art gallery and games room, Tokyo’s distinctly modern Home boasts a bar lounge and an exceptional valet service, and in Hong Kong visitors to the Home can enjoy the dynamic atmosphere of Alfie’s restaurant and a fine wine reserve.

Although every Home of Alfred Dunhill is of course outstanding, the true spiritual home of dunhill is without question London. A freestanding Georgian mansion in the heart of Mayfair, Bourdon House embodies the heart and soul of the brand.

Characterised by proportion and balance, Bourdon House has long been considered a fine illustration of Georgian architecture. The Georgian style of architecture is now, more than ever, held as the epitome of refinement – beautifully proportioned, elegantly understated and much copied, but never surpassed. The Duke of Westminster set his sights on Bourdon House in 1911, displaying an overwhelming interest in its unique setting from the start, and made it his official London residence until his death in 1953.

Much time and care has been invested by Alfred Dunhill in renovating and modernising the House to evoke the same warmth and magnificence, but without compromising on its impressive heritage and spirit. Beautifully carved cornices, wood panelling, impeccably positioned antiques and perfect proportions echo the same elegant air and the building’s magnificent past fittingly.

Quite simply, the genuine character of the illustrious 18th century residence has been fully restored to its former glory, when it was called ‘Home’ by the second Duke of Westminster, but brought up-to-date by Alfred Dunhill with the progressive and enlightened concept of the ‘Homes.’

Every Alfred Dunhill Home is distinguished by a range of unique services, complementing a superior and effortless retail experience. Each one shares Alfred’s signature touch and personality, whilst still reflecting the respective culture of the environment surrounding it.

The three-floored retail aspect of Bourdon House, which is open to all, undoubtedly caters to every modern gentleman’s needs. The ground floor is home to the thoroughly impressive Alfred Dunhill emporium – the very best in luxury menswear, leather, accessories, gifts and gadgets.

The second floor reflects the brands commitment to personalisation, luxury and exclusivity – a spa, complete with two treatment rooms; a traditional gentleman’s barber – where guests can enjoy a hair cut or cut-throat shave in classic barbershop chairs covered in Dunhill’s Tradition leather, while checking the latest news and sports results or watching a classic movie on their personal TV screen; and the “Discovery Room” which presents custom-made menswear and leather and an dunhill museum curating both vintage leather and archive pieces spanning over 120 years.

In the basement you will be delighted to find a subterranean 12 seater private cinema complete with a state of the art Meridian sound system. The Cellar Bar and lounge area, serving seasonal British food and drinks, is adjacent to the humidor.

Service even continues into the walled courtyard – where guests can enjoy table service, under heaters during inclement weather, taking refuge from the hustle and bustle of London life.

The London home of Alfred Dunhill is overall an unforgettable and unique experience, which embodies a lifestyle that has long since represented grandeur and distinction in British luxury. To this day, Bourdon House is fit for royalty, revering its rich and reputable past but challenging the expected and demanding the very best.

Gruma meets expansion targets

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

In 2011, GRUMA will likely face various challenges. Thanks to the company’s preparation – much as in previous years – its strategic business approach will allow it to move forward with great success.

The Mexican multinational, with 93 plants strategically located to sell its products in 102 countries throughout America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, is already aware of some of problems it will encounter. Grain price volatility, maintaining consumption levels – mainly in the US – and utilising optimal flow generation to maintain a healthy financial structure are all concerns. In light of this the company is already prepreparing to meet these challenges head on.

GRUMA has now purchased all the corn to cover its production needs in the US, the market currently with the greatest grain price volatility impact. Having addressed this situation, the company can now offer a competitive price strategy and continue growing in the tortilla market.

On the consumption side, the company’s basic and defensive character of its products continues to allow it to ensure sales volumes in Mexico and Latin America, its core business after the US. However, GRUMA is always looking to broaden its reach and as such includes market expansion activities in all its strategic planning schemes.

According to the philosophy of its chairman Roberto González Barrera, the key to GRUMA’s world success is to adapt to the cultures, people and laws of each and every country where it invests. At the same time, its founder also believes that crises constitute growth opportunities, for constant portfolio evolution to meet customer and consumer needs.

In 2000, this most globalised of Mexican food companies went into the European tortilla market, with the construction of its first production plant in Coventry, England. Now, 10 years later, GRUMA has production operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Italy and the Ukraine, and exports products to most of the countries across the continent, as well as to Africa and the Middle East.

Furthermore, in 2006 GRUMA built and launched its first tortilla production in China and, through acquisitions, went into Australia, where it recently opened a state-of-the-art tortilla and chips plant, fully developed by its own technological area.

With these facilities, GRUMA has not only consolidated its international presence in the tortilla market, but allowed the production of a large range of flat breads (wraps, chapatti, naan, pitta bread, pizza base, piadina and more). This has allowed GRUMA to establish a major presence in those continents, aiding the expansion into these potential markets.

GRUMA sales worldwide are currently around $4bn, and there’s great potential to continue growing through products where a lot of experience has already been acquired. Implementing vertical integration through corn flour and grits production operations as raw materials in the aforementioned regions will also be an aim.

In 2011, GRUMA’s challenge in these regions is to expand its customer and product base. This will be achieved in part through strategic acquisitions to cover new regions. More importantly though, GRUMA aims to become more familiar with consumer tastes and preferences and thus meet consumption needs. For this objective, GRUMA has adapted many of its products to the culinary customs of the regions where it’s located. At the same time, GRUMA is aiming for increased consumer interaction, showing the variety of ways its high quality and value-added products can be used and consumed.

In Asia and Oceania, with 62 percent of the world population – over 4 billion – GRUMA and its management are certain that their products and opportunities will prove more than attractive.

Of course, this is not neglecting its operations in America and Europe, where each market offers near infinite growth opportunities. GRUMA’s future challenge is to continue consolidating its presence in the regions where it already operates, as well as to take advantage of all new market opportunities that occur across the planet.
Over the next year, GRUMA plans to grow sales and profits in all the regions where it operates, to continue reducing its leverage levels and enhancing its financial structure, which is the basis behind the company’s sustained growth.

The most globalised Mexican food company, that nourishes the heart of Mexico and the world, therefore has enormous global growth opportunities. With the world population now 6.5 billion people, all seeking high quality products that are healthy, practical and environmentally friendly characteristics, GRUMA has taken great strides to meet these needs, as it continues to demonstrate through the regions and markets where its products are already available.

World wide wells

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

First established as the Oil Surveying State Enterprise in Krakow in 1946, OGEC Cracow today executes large oil and gas drilling contracts across Europe, Asia and Africa. From initial contracts involving just the delivery of drilling rig crews, the company has led a programme of modernisation to its drilling rig fleet resulting in a shower of ‘turn key basis’ contracts. Nowadays, the company is one of the key players in the contractors’ market, beating competitors thanks to a combination of the high qualifications and experience of its employees, and its expeditious and reliable execution of works.

OGEC Cracow now stands at the forefront of exciting new markets. Poland recently became the subject of interest from global firms due to the discovery of shale gas deposits. OGEC Cracow has been an active member in the process of its recovery, participating in the exploration of the shale gas and crude oil, and extracting methane from hard coal deposits through four units working under the direction of PGNiG SA and other domestic market operators.

For 20 years, OGEC Cracow has also had a branch registered in the Czech Republic. Its first works there were executed on behalf of the Czech Geological Office when the country was still Czechoslovakia. Now OGEC Cracow has returned to this market, drilling for Česká Naftařská Společnost s.r.o surveying bores in the vicinity of Breclav. OGEC Cracow has also formed a consortium with the OGEC Jasło, and together the companies are completing an agreement with RWE Dea’s operations in the Czech Republic; once signed, the enterprises will execute the drilling of underground gas stores.

For many analysts, drilling in the Czech Republic and the potential of this market is quite a surprise. For the Polish firms, it is an excellent market and the beginning of new cooperation within the Capital Group.

European expansion
Ukraine holds tremendous potential in terms of its raw materials and attracts the best firms from around the world in search of what is buried beneath. OGEC Cracow’s first contract in the Ukraine was executed back in the 1990s for the operator JKX/PPC Poltava. From this, the firm committed to developments in Ukraine for the long term, running among other things works in the vicinity of Poltava where it has been drilling exploration and production wells using the N75 unit. In total, 20 specialists from Krakow have worked there.

OGEC Cracow also has its share in the extraction of natural resources in Kazakhstan. The company has been in this market since 1998, when it established its own branch and signed a contract for drilling works for KaraKudukMunai. After this contract, there was again a deluge of other offers, including some from the largest firms operating in that market: KazMunaiGaz, Lukoil, Chevron, Petro Kazakhstan, Orient Petroleum, Kazakhmys Petroleum and KazakhOilAktobe.

Unfortunately the economic crises which affected Kazakhstani and Chinese expansion in this area caused a slow withdrawal from the Kazakh market. Currently in Kazakhstan there are three rigs operating mainly for local firms. One of the larger units in Europe, the N1625, is drilling for Kazakhmys Petroleum while for North Caspian Oil Development LLP – another giant from the Krakow stables – is working with the Midco. The third contract is being carried out with the H1000 unit, which, for a few years, has been drilling for the Kazakhstani contractor Ken Sary. The number of workers employed in Kazakhstan currently stands at about 100. However, the firm remains poised to take advantage of better circumstances in the country as the market improves.

Into the east
Despite its expertise, some of the company’s largest successes have happened by chance. Over 13 years ago, OGEC Cracow and PGNiG SA were interested in the positive attitude of Pakistani authorities toward investment in the country, as well as the possibilities created by the presence of many international operator firms in this market. PGNiG SA procured concessions for surveying works in three provinces – Punjab, Sind and Baluchistan – and the Surveying Enterprise from Krakow quickly signed a contract with the American firm Occidental. The tender was won through the quality of the IRI 1700 unit contracted for the work, as well as the standard of the crew operating it. The unit was transported by sea from Gdynia to Karachi, and it continues to work in Pakistan to this day.

After works for Occidental, the OGEC Cracow procured contracts for drilling works by public tender for such internationally recognised operator firms as Premier Oil, Orient Petroleum, OMV, British Gas, BP, Lasmo, ENI and Petronas, as well as for domestic companies including OGDCL, MariGas and PPL.

Expansion into the hydrocarbon market in Pakistan was the joint idea of PGNiG SA and OGEC Cracow, which brought about an opportunity for cooperation. In 2009, OGEC Cracow won the tender for drilling exploration wells for PGNiG SA. The principal target for surveying was the Pab Formation, located at a depth of 2,642m.

This was not the first time that OGEC Cracow had worked for its owner in Pakistan, previously being in the vicinity of Sabzal and also in Sindh province in 1999.

Today in Pakistan two Polish drilling units are working with the Swab Unit, on which 30 Polish people are employed as key personnel, together with 100 Pakistan personnel. The IRI 1700 and RR 600 units run operations for the Pakistan operator OGDCL, which has contracted them for the next three years.

Africa’s rising star
OGEC Cracow has also had a strong interest in the African market for many years. The company’s first forray into the continent was a contract in Ghana with the Australian company Fusion Oil & Gas. The next followed in 2007, with an agreement for the execution of drilling for the international concern SASOL. These took place in Mozambique, in the vicinity of the town of Vilanculos. For the drilling tasks, two OGEC Cracow units and one of ZRG Krosno were contracted. After the contract was over, the RR 600 unit started drilling works for the Norwegian oil company DNO International before returning to work in Poland in September 2008.

This was not the end of the African adventure. The company attracted the attention of Tullow Oil in Uganda. The first supplies from IRI 750 reached the town of Butiaba in Uganda at the end of February 2008. After a short overhaul, the first well was drilled – Taitai-1.

From this, OGEC Cracow commenced a substantial programme of drilling for Tullow Oil plc in an area near Lake Albert, northeast Uganda. This ongoing project caused a great boom for the firm in the African market and in July 2010 OGEC Cracow again signed a contract with SASOL in Mozambique, using a K900 unit for the works.

The geographic range of works that OGEC Cracow undertakes is evidently stunning. However, the best commendation for the company remains its workers. Their versatile professional experience, unique knowledge, and their ability to undertake and happily complete even the most ‘mission impossible’ tasks make them the key to OGEC Cracow’s international successes. This combination of knowledge, experience and high work-ethic, along with access to the best equipment for the task, enables the company to set high standards and fulfil all of its customers’ requirements.

China shifts outbound investment focus

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

In China, FDI policy has shifted from inbound to outbound investment. Furthermore, outbound investment is migrating up the value chain from resources through knowledge-based industries. China’s huge financial resources provide a sound foundation which needs to be supplemented with information and tools to assist Chinese
companies to make objective investment decisions.

Everyone is aware of the massive economic changes that have taken place in China over the last few decades. Focusing on the trade balance and the financial resources (estimated at over $2trn), many people assume that China’s rise is based on low-cost manufacturing capabilities supplemented by an essentially limitless supply of people. However, in reality China’s vision and aspirations are global, broad and achievable.

With its membership in the WTO, China became part of the global marketplace. The country now has 46 companies in the Fortune 500 – three in the top 10. Contradicting the view of China as a specialist in low-end manufacturing, the country has developed the world’s fastest supercomputer, the Tianhe-1A, which at 2.5-petaflops surpasses the Jaguar supercomputer in the USA.

It has become important for China to diversify, partially as a result of negative perceptions about trade imbalance and currency exchange rates, but also because of political ambitions. Chinese facilities, factories and distribution centres in all parts of the world will utilise knowledge from the approaches successfully taken by Japan and Korea.

It will mimic successful aspects of those approaches, while skipping those aspects that didn’t go well. Case in point: in response to external demands for Yen, Japan revalued. The trade imbalance did not change, but the Japanese economy entered a 10 year deflationary period. It is unlikely that China will follow this example.

Historically Chinese outbound investment has been aimed at securing natural resources, a situation that resulted in a substantial African presence. The focus is now changing. During the recent UNCTAD World Investment Forum 2010 in Xiamen, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China presented a plan and strategy for more diverse outbound investment.

The ministry released detailed economic reports in Chinese language about the investment environment of 22 countries. They also proposed Global-Arena.com to work with them on a “Global-Arena.cn” initiative. Managing outbound FDI is very different from managing inbound FDI. Moreover, as China has changed, the government wants to diversify its FDI by complementing State Owned Enterprises’ FDI activities with Privately Owned Enterprises’ foreign investments.

As a global leader in online business location information, providing innovative online analytics tools to support objective FDI allocation decisions, Global-Arena.com is uniquely qualified to assist with China’s outbound FDI strategy. Global-Arena.cn will bring an enormous amount of information (in Chinese) to the Chinese outbound FDI market.

In addition to Global-Arena’s patented ranking technology, which supports evidence-based location decisions, Global-Arena.cn will provide essential information (cost, taxation, legal, education, infrastructure) to ensure successful implementation of the FDI strategy. Companies and governments outside of China which are increasingly interested in entering the Chinese market, will benefit through mirrored capability available on the Global-Arena.com website.

Having the financial resources to invest is adequate but not sufficient to ensure global success. Local FDI knowledge and access to information that allows objective and evidence-based decisions is equally important.

China is ambitious – but it is also realistic and practical. Most of all, China has a unique long term planning capability combined with an unparalleled sense of focus and patience. China wants to become the world economic leader. Chinese FDI is instrumental to that ambition.

Dr Dan Martin Zürich is Chief Innovation Officer at Global Arena

ICIS launched to protect investors

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

The long history of Cyprus indicates that its strategic geographic location had a central role in rendering it an important commercial centre. More recently, Cyprus’ EU membership, as well as its favourable tax and legal regime, its surprisingly wide network of double taxation treaties and its high level of professional services have made Cyprus one of the most attractive financial destinations in Europe and worldwide. Among many other economic sectors which benefit from its business friendly jurisdiction, Cyprus has had much success attracting International Collective Investment Schemes (ICIS). The main objective of the ICIS is to promote ‘merging’ of different unit holders’ assets and the collective investment of these assets, within Europe or abroad, with the purpose of achieving considerably high returns on the one and risk-spreading on the other.

Establishing a stable legal framework, which provides investors with certainty and flexibility, in May 1999 Cyprus adopted a codified law governing ICIS. The International Collective Investment Schemes Law 47(1)/1999 regulates the functioning of these schemes to ensure the highest possible protection for the investors.

An ICIS can take one of the following legal forms:
– International Fixed Capital Company
– International Variable Capital Company
– International Unit Trust Scheme
– International Investment Limited Partnership

Moreover, all of the above legal forms enjoy the option to be established with either limited or unlimited duration and can vary in respect of the target group they attract. Depending on the promoter’s determination, an ICIS may be established as private. On the other hand, it may be addressed to the general public or exclusively to experienced investors. The flexibility in designing the type of ICIS guarantees that the scheme is established solely for the best interest of the unit holders and exactly as desired by the promoters.

Types of ICIS
International Investment Companies (Fixed or Variable Capital)
An ICIS which consists of an International Investment Company with variable capital benefits is not subject to a minimum capital requirement. In contrast, an International Investment Company with fixed capital must fulfil the minimum capital criterion established by the Central Bank. The above criterion applies identically to ICIS marketed to the public or to experienced investors, but it does not apply to private ICIS, which enjoy no minimum capital requirement. As a result of the above exemption, and since ‘private’ cannot be interpreted objectively, the law includes a restriction stating that only schemes with 100 investors or fewer can be approved as private. A private ICIS is the most common type of scheme currently used by most promoters in Cyprus, primarily because it can benefit from a number of exemptions from administrative and compliance requirements.

International Unit Trusts
The central concept of International Unit Trusts is that the legal owner of the trust assets holds the assets’ legal title for the benefit of the beneficial owners, in accordance with the instructions of the settlor; as indicated in the trust agreement, and for the best interest of the unit holders. The main advantage of establishing a trust scheme is that Cyprus provides a legal framework which ensures the protection of the assets and guarantees the desirable confidentiality. Confidentiality is achieved through the duty of the Central Bank of Cyprus and other involved parties not to disclose any detail of the trusts to anyone (except in the case of a Cypriot court ordering it do so so). Assets protection is achieved because the trustee can be found liable to the unit holders for any losses suffered as a result of the improper performance of his duties and renders it very difficult for a third party to invalidate the trust.

Trusts established in Cyprus for the purposes of ICIS are defined as International Trusts and they are governed by the International Trust Law. According to s.2 of the Law, the settlor and the beneficiaries of the Trust must not be permanent residents of Cyprus while at least one of the trustees must be permanent resident. In addition, immovable properties in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus cannot be included in the Trust fund.

In the situation of establishing an International Unit Scheme for Collective Investments the Trustee can be a bank or any person, other than a bank, which provide trustee services, or even a subsiduary of any of the above, under the requirement that the criteria set in Sections 45 and 46 of the law are satisfied. In any of the above options the trustee must be considered by the competent authority as fulfilling the requirements set by the law and mainly needs to be found to exercise sufficient banking supervision in its jurisdiction. Cyprus is in a position to offer exceptional quality trustee services provided by experienced law firms, banks’ departments, trustee services companies and accountants.

International Investment Limited Partnerships
Limited Partnerships registered under the Partnership and Business Names Law of the Republic of Cyprus can suffice as International Investment Limited Partnerships. Similarly to ordinary Limited Liability Partnerships, the partners enjoy limited liability which is equal to the amount they contributed to the capital of the Scheme. A general partner is appointed, either a natural person or a legal entity, who is the only person empowered to represent the partnership and responsible for the scheme’s obligations and debts. The code of conduct and the obligations of the general partner are indicated by the law and they are similar to those of the trustee in the trust scheme.

Taxation
Beyond any doubt, the most attractive factor for establishing an ICIS in Cyprus consist of the tax incentives which, during the last years, became even more advantageous for the prospective investors.

Fund taxation
Generally the net income of the fund is subject to 10 percent flat corporate taxation. Dividend income, profits from sale of shares and other financial instruments and fair value gains are exempt from taxation. There is no withholding tax in Cyprus on any payments of dividends or interest abroad, irrespective of whether there is a double tax treaty or not with the country involved.

Investor taxation
Dividend distributions in respect of registered ICISs are taxed at three percent only applicable to Cyprus tax resident unit holders. Thus dividends paid to non Cyprus residents are totally exempt. Additionally, the redemption of units in ICIS is considered as disposal of securities; subject to the provisions of the latest law amendments are exempt.

Double taxation treaties
The double taxation treaties signed between Cyprus and other countries encourage the establishment of Cyprus registered ICIS. Since such treaties ensure the transfer of funds between the contracting countries with very low or even no further taxation, cheap or tax free repatriation of funds is ensured. Moreover, the fact that Cyprus retains double taxation treaties with non-European Union countries gives the opportunity for the citizens of these countries to invest in Europe through Cyprus ICIS and be treated as if they were Europeans.

Conclusions
It is useful to summarise the key factors that render Cyprus an attractive ICIS hosting state and constitute a safe environment for prospective investors.

Firstly, the promoters are able to select the legal form that best matches their needs, choosing from a wide choice of vehicles that can be used to establish the scheme. In addition, the establishment and the operation of the scheme is supervised and regulated from the Central Bank of Cyprus or from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (depending on the type of the scheme), which aims to ensure that all the involved parties meet the requirements set in the law and that unit holders’ assets are handled with reasonable care and transparency for the income and confidence of the promoters, unit holders and beneficiaries.

The common law based legal system of Cyprus in combination with the exceptional piece of legislation governing Cyprus registered ICIS and compatibility with EU ICIS law provides a certain, stable, safe and predictable legal environment for the unit holders. The high level of professional services offered from Cyprus firms in reasonably low costs is another reason for preferring Cyprus instead of any other EU jurisdiction.

The above findings along with the low corporate tax, the exemption of ICIS from the majority of taxation, the tax benefits of investors in an ICIS and the wide network of double taxation treaties undoubtedly render Cyprus an ideal financial centre for the establishment of International Collective Investment Schemes.

Areti Charidemou is a Partner, Areti Charidemou & Associates LLC

For more information tel: + 357 25 50 80 00; email: socratis.ellinas@aretilaw.com; info@aretilaw.com

Brokers deliver on currencies demand

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

Syria enjoys a geographic position where the three continents meet. Since the time of the Canaanites, through the golden age of the Arabian and Islamic Nation and up until now, Syria has been the centre of trade and transportation by land, sea and air.

Al-Mawardi, who was Treasury Minister then, clarified the role and importance of international commerce. He said, “90 percent of livelihood is in commerce and farming.” Thus, Al-Mawardi called for activating trade that leads to fluctuating money in journeys and transferring it in the countries. He considered this more convenient, more beneficial and more dangerous to the kind people.

A deep reading of Al-Mawardi’s saying about money fluctuation and transference among countries means that the increase in international trade will increase the ties of the social relations among the citizens of those countries and their financial status will improve. That results in developing all the countries and enjoy security and ease to further the relations regarding the social and economic interests. This is reflected in benefit to all people.

Since the end of the 20th Century, the EU has conducted the policy of concentration on services’ economy where the commercial services constitute (85 percent) of the local production.

As though history repeats itself. Despite the period between the two examples being nearly 1000 years, going back to the advantageous policies always increases benefit to people regardless of their colour and gender.
Services’ economy depends on providing service products in several fields such as health, education, tourism, transportation, communication, banking, insurance and banknote markets; besides, knowledge economy that has reached $200bn in the world.

Exchange companies are considered an essential pillar of the finance services sector because they play an important role in meeting the local needs for foreign currencies. They also play a role in activating the monetary course during some seasons by receiving and sending transfers among people fast and honestly.

Consequently, exchange companies are considered the main artery for the individuals and companies as a whole regarding money transfer where their transfers outdo banks’ transfers in this question. This is due to lowering the deducted local exchangers’ fees on transfers compared with the commissions imposed by the banks. These companies are regarded strong competitors for the local banks, and it is expected to add activity to the local market and protect them from monopolies.

Al-Adham Company for Exchange has established its philosophy on building a competitive policy for its prices in the Syrian market whether concerning transferring the currencies or commissions of trading in currencies; besides, delivering the incoming transfers on the day of transferring.

Al-Adham Company for Exchange has been able to gain the trust of local banks by buying the local currency from them and helping them in risk management against the fluctuation of prices of local and international currencies.

Dr Samer Mazhar Kantakji is General Manager of Al-Adham Company for Exchange. For more information Tel: +963 11 2325603

Power for a more sustainable future

Posted on January 4, 2011 by

Established in December 1978 as a state enterprise, Petroleum Authority of Thailand or PTT was formed to conduct petroleum and related businesses. Over two decades later, PTT Public Company Limited (“PTT Plc”) was registered as a company under the Corporatisation Act on October 1 2001 with a capital of 20bn baht ($673m). Currently, PTT Public Company Ltd (PTT) is Thailand’s fully-integrated energy company with leading position in exploration and production, transmission, petrochemical, refining, marketing and trading of petroleum and petrochemical products. PTT is 51 percent directly owned by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), with a further 15 percent held through Vayupak Mutual (government-invested funds).

PTT’s main businesses include procurement, transmission and distribution of natural gas in Thailand through a 3,508km pipeline network, as well as marketing and processing of natural gas through five gas separation plants. The company, through its 65.40 percent-owned subsidiary, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd., conducts oil and gas exploration and production both domestically and overseas. Most projects are in the Gulf of Thailand, and overseas projects cover Asia Pacific, the Middle East and West Africa.

In addition, PTT is directly engaged in oil marketing and international trading. It also holds interests in five domestic oil refineries, four of which are listed entities. These refineries and PTT’s gas separation plants support petrochemical operations, providing a wide range of liquid and gas-derived petrochemical products.

The success factor of PTT comes from management vision to expand business in relation to the global trend, such as the decision to involve in Petrochemical business, the construction of the new transmission pipeline, debt restructuring for affiliates, merger and acquisition of the affiliates, acquiring RRC refinery, jet and coal business etc. Moreover, the world was recovering from the Asian crisis in 1997, thus, the increase in the demand of Oil and Petrochemical product which led to the increase in petroleum product price. As a result PTT’s Group performance had rapidly grown from THB 386bn in year 2001 to THB 1,586bn in 2009.

Through keeping the core value chain expansion to become a ‘Top Oil and Gas Player,’ E&P business is expanded in and outside Thailand to cover the rising demand while the gas utilisation is developed to enlarge the value addition of gas. Moreover, the bigger pipeline network, both onshore and offshore, LNG receiving terminal, and the distributing pipelines to provide gas for the city are on track. To the downstream business, petrochemical consolidation is accelerated to increase the synergy among the leading companies. With an aspiration to become a global energy conglomerate, PTT has enhanced its value chain through diversification to related businesses such as coal mining overseas, clean energy business, and bio-petrochemical development.

Looking forward to a sustainable future, with the three strategic pillars of High Performance Organisation, Corporate Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility, by 2020 PTT aspires to be a Fortune Global 100 company with top quartile performance, and to be listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index by 2013. Along with the aforementioned business plans for growth, PTT never loses its grip on Corporate Social Responsibility. Environmental protection and preservation of nature have been among the Group’s top priorities. Continuous improvement, benchmarking and monitoring of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and energy conservation are placed in the latest roadmap for sustainability. More clean, renewable and improved environmental-friendly products are to offer to customers, both at home and overseas. Arguably, PTT is among the main reasons why Thailand has the most advanced biofuel programmes (Gasohol and Biodiesel) in ASEAN, on a commercial scale. PTT’s Research and Technology Institute has also dedicated a good portion of its brains and capital resources to Green and Clean technologies. Recently, a consortium was formed among research institutes, universities and PTT to collectively explore possibilities in CO2 absorption applications and biofuel that can be derived from micro-algae. Improved battery technology research that possibly can enhance the future performance of solar power storage is also ongoing. Meanwhile, PTT’s continual reforestation and forest conservation programmes in rural areas are considered one of the top “carbon-sink” climate change risk mitigations at a national level.

Through PTT efforts, more than one million Rai (approximately 250,000 hectares) of mature forests have been added to the country thus far. Last but not least, the company intends to create and enhance awareness on climate change and energy conservation for the public through designed programmes and campaigns.

Though the company yearns for a number of lofty goals on an international stage – back at home in Thailand – PTT Group simply wishes to personify the “power for sustainable future” for the country and its citizens.