Description

It is a common provision in renewable energy project financing whereby the investor has the right to accelerate repayment of monies committed (and disbursed) to the developer, and if unpaid, could allow the investor to convert the debt into equity (not uncommonly a controlling stake) in the developer, either at project level or at holding level.

The developer is the most vulnerable at pre-revenue stage, when it has neither the actual funds, nor interest from white knights, to repay the accelerated demand. However, the developer is not entirely without recourse, and may have the various defences that could exert pressure on the investor to prevent a bad faith attempt at acceleration-then-conversion, which this webinar with industry speakers explores.

4.00PM    Welcome
4.05PM    Presentation by Arvin Lee, with interactive input from Ms Mona Katigbak, Mr Jocot de Dios and Mr Olivier Duguet
4.45PM    Q&A
5.00PM    End

SPEAKER BIO

Arvin Lee is a Partner of Wee Swee Teow LLP, a 110-year-old Singapore law firm. He is an Arbitrator of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the Chinese Arbitration Association (International), and an Adjudicator of the Financial Institutions Dispute Resolution Centre (Singapore). He is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow with the EW Barker Centre of Law and Business, NUS.

He focuses on energy-related disputes (conventional and renewables).

On the renewable energy front, he has a focus on wind and solar, and his experience includes being lead counsel for a Southeast Asian wind power developer in its project finance claims against private equity investor in an SIAC arbitration, with total amount in dispute in excess of US$20 million, for a Southeast Asian wind power developer in relation to attempts by private equity investor to exercise conversion rights to take over control of the developer at project level pursuant to an accelerated repayment provision; and for a Fortune 100 Enterprise’s renewables arm in a solar dispute against a regional contractor in ICC arbitration.

Arising from the downstream oil and gas work, he has built up a commodities trading and trade finance disputes practice, which recently includes acting as co-lead counsel on letter of credit issues governed by Singapore law (alongside Mr Michael Collett K.C. on letter of indemnity issues) for a Pertamina subsidiary against the paying bank in relation to an LC dispute in excess of US$23m before the Singapore International Commercial Court (and the appeal before the international division of the Singapore Court of Appeal filed by the opponents).

Arvin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the International Dispute Resolution Academy (HK). He holds law degrees from Harvard (LL.M.) and the LSE (LL.B., Hons. 1st).