Professional Summary

With 26 years of practice and research, Ngoc Anh is a business lawyer with international expertise and local experience on M&A, foreign direct investment, SOE equitization and state divestment, corporate, real estate, employment, market access, customs and WTO. Ngoc Anh has been advising clients on various complicated deals in a wide range of heavily regulated industries, such as airlines, automobile, telecom, oil and gas, real estate, energy, trade, securities, manufacturing and services. Ngoc Anh advised Fortune 500 in many of Vietnam’s most complex and largest M&A, new foreign investment and regulatory audits and controversies.

Ngoc Anh received his doctoral degree, with distinction, on international trade law from Georgetown University Law Center in 2007. During his time in Washington D.C., he worked for Steptoe& Johnson on international trade.

Prior to studying in the US, Ngoc Anh worked for the USVTC in Hanoi on various technical assistance programs on Vietnam’s WTO accession negotiation and Vietnam’s implementation of the 2000 US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Notable Engagements

Projects & Energy

• Assisted the Project Company and its Sponsors, Marubeni Corporation and KEPCO, in negotiating the CPs list in the financial documents for financing US$2.7 billion Nghi Son 2 BOT Thermal Power Project, and in obtaining such CPs for financial closing in 2017-2018
• Advised Renova Inc., and Japan Asia Group on all issues in relation to their solar and wind power projects in Vietnam
• Advised the Arranger to arrange for Hong Phong 1 Renewable Energy (i) the loan of US$30 million from ING Bank and (ii) the corporate bonds of VND 2,150 billion guaranteed by CGIF (a trust fund of Asia Development Bank). This is the first project bond for renewable energy project guaranteed by CGIF in Vietnam
• Advised a Giant Malaysian Corporation on its strategic investment strategy in Vietnam renewable power projects, through shares acquisition into existing projects, including 40.6 MWp solar power project with COD in June 2019 and 100.5 MWp solar power project, and bond arrangements for developing new solar farm, solar rooftop and wind power projects
• Advised the foreign EPC Contractor on various compliance and contractual issues relating to the EPC Contract for 650 MW Thermal Power Project with EVN as the Owner
• Assisted Thai investor in investing and acquiring super majority shares in Phong Dien 2 Solar Power project in Hue
• Assisted Hero Future Energies in acquiring 40% with the options to acquiring super majority shares in the project company having a 35 MWp Hau Giang solar farm project
• Assisted Hanwha Energy Corporation Singapore Pte. Ltd. in the proposed transaction in relation to Phu My 1 – 120MWp solar power project in Binh Dinh Province
• Advised Forchile Co., Ltd, a Japanese company, in acquiring shares in 200MWp Solar Power Plant Project, and options in acquiring into two other solar projects, in Binh Phuoc province

Corporate/M&A

• Advised Augusta Investment Limited in relation to the acquisition of private business portfolio from SCB with the value of more than US$1 billion
• Assisted LOGOS in the 100% acquisition of shares to take over the industrial land in VSIP Bac Ninh in Vietnam with the total area of 13 hectares
• Assisting Ford on all operation issues in the last more than 10 years, including the complicated customs issues on royalties related to the trademark and technology transfer on the customs valuation of the imported automobile parts, and import taxes on the imported automobile parts due to failure of the discrete level, which has been the biggest customs issue
• Advised Petronas on all Vietnamese legal issues on LPG, internal transferring of 100% equity in two Vietnamese subsidiaries between subsidiaries of Petronas; and then divesting 100% equity in one subsidiary to one foreign investor and the other to a local investor
• Advising a Japanese investor in acquiring 8% equity in Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) to become Petrolimex’s strategic foreign investor in May 2016. Petrolimex is a giant equitized SOE on petroleum distribution, which was originally a State trading corporation and was first IPO in 2011, and to be listed in HSX in 2017
• Advising a Japanese investor in acquiring 8.771% equity in Vietnam Airlines JSC (Vietnam Airlines), to become Vietnam Airlines’ strategic foreign investor in July 2016. Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam, which was a giant equitized SOE, and first IPO in 2014, and first listed on 03 January 2017
• Advised SMBC Nikko Cordial Securities Company in the acquisition of shares of PSI, a securities broker under PetroVietnam
• Advised a Japanese manufacturer in relation to the acquisition of a paper manufacturing company
• Advised a Japanese Internet company in the acquisition of a Vietnamese software company
• Advised a local distribution company with various electronic stores in issuing new shares to its foreign strategic investors
• Advised a Japanese wiring company in the acquisition of 100% equity in a current manufacturing company in Vietnam
• Advised a Singaporean company in the acquisition of TD Plaza and setting up a new company to operate the service apartment
• Advised a giant Korean investor in the US$1.5 billion new investment project in Vietnam